Lunar New Year in Hong Kong: worshippers flock to Taoist temple to seek blessings for Year of the Dragon
- Doors to Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple opened at 9pm to welcome worshippers ahead of offering ritual later at night
- Temple’s namesake, Great Immortal Wong, is regarded as having healing powers, drawing worshippers every year to make offerings
Thousands waited in line at one of Hong Kong’s largest Taoist temples on Lunar New Year’s Eve to participate in the ritual of presenting their first incense sticks in the Year of the Dragon to pray for happiness and good health.
Doors to Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple opened at 9pm to welcome worshippers ahead of the offering ritual later at night. From 11pm, worshippers made a beeline to place joss sticks before a painting of the Great Immortal Wong, in hopes for good luck for the year ahead.
The temple is expecting 50,000 to 60,000 worshippers to offer their first incense this year, more than double the numbers from last year’s 23,000 when the ritual first resumed after a two-year pandemic-induced suspension.
Paper Kwai, 36, was one of the first to join the queue at 4pm. Dressed as a character from the Japanese anime Dragon Ball, a homage to the year’s zodiac sign, the administrator said it was his second visit in two years.
“Last year, I came because the iconic Lana Wong Ha-wai couldn’t make it so I took it upon myself to do it on behalf of her,” he said
Kwai was referring to the veteran actress in her nineties known for her extravagant outfits when attending the annual ritual. In 2023, he also met Wong’s goddaughter Amy Ie who was also at the temple on Friday.
“I came prepared with heat pads underneath our outfits so that we can stay warm,” said Ie, who is a pain relief therapist in her twenties. “Things have been going smooth for myself, my parents and brother, which is why I’m back for the fifth time.”