Why Hong Kong makes such a big deal of sea goddess Tin Hau’s birthday
Two months of festivities begin today for a goddess who no longer has many fishermen to bestow good fortune on but in whom landlubbers firmly believe. Here’s what Tin Hau means for indigenous culture
Christmas almost seems low-key compared with the extended celebration of Tin Hau’s birthday.
For the next two months, devotees in Hong Kong will hold elaborate events in the name of the Chinese goddess whose well-established date of birth is the 23rd day of the third month in the lunar calendar. This year, it falls on April 29 but festivities have already kicked off. On Sunday, thousands will gather outside the Tin Hau temple in Tai Po for Taoist rituals, traditional dances and displays of paper models of altars called fa pau (literally, flower firecrackers). This is followed by weeks of street parades (the biggest is in Yuen Long), temple ceremonies, Cantonese opera performances in temporary bamboo marquees and, finally, a flotilla of Aberdeen fishing boats decked out in colourful flags at the end of June.
All this seems anachronistic and over the top, especially since Tin Hau is a goddess whose main job is to protect fishermen and sailors – hardly major occupations in today’s Hong Kong.
But the goddess of the sea, who also goes by the names of A-ma and Ma Tsu in Macau and Taiwan, also appeals to plenty of landlubbers. That’s because Tin Hau is widely believed to be able to grant wishes and get rid of evil spirits – in Cantonese parlance, she is very lang, or effective.
This long tradition of Tin Hau worship in Hong Kong makes her an important symbol of indigenous culture. Then there is the more practical consideration of tourist dollars. After all, who can resist the photogenic appeal of colourful pageants, operas and flotillas?
