Seekers of good fortune flock to borrow from goddess
The economy may be recovering, but the Goddess of Mercy remains as popular as ever for those seeking their fortune.
About 35,000 worshippers prayed to the goddess for monetary rewards during the Guanyin Treasury-Opening Festival over the weekend. About 3,000 people queued outside the Guanyin Temple at Hunghom to wait for it to open at 11pm on Saturday.
Katrina Chan 'borrowed' $120 million from the goddess after queuing for an hour. She said this year was the third time she had joined the prayers. 'Of course I didn't get rich after borrowing from Guanyin,' said Miss Chan. 'But I think things have gone more smoothly in the past two years.'
Tradition is that believers can 'borrow' money from the goddess on the Treasury-Opening Festival.
A worshipper should first place three joss sticks and burn offerings. Then they go to the 'treasury' to get one of the randomly distributed red packets inscribed with an amount 'borrowed' from the goddess. The larger the amount, the better the luck. This year, the largest amount on a red packet is $380 million.
The borrower should return the 'debt' to the goddess at the end of the year by burning the red packet at the temple.
Worshipper Annie Fong, 28, said it was her first visit to the temple and she planned to return for the next two years, in accordance with tradition. 'The tradition of borrowing money is to come in three consecutive years,' she said. 'So I will go to the temple again.'
Besides borrowing from the goddess, worshippers could also make wishes and pray for luck.
Another worshipper queued for an hour to get into the temple to pray for the health of her family. On the advice of friends, she brought an apple, an orange, peanuts, a shaddock fruit and tea leaves.
'The five types of fruit represent my wish of good health for all the family members and success in the careers of my sons and daughters,' she said.
