Mazu’s feast day has become one of annual important festivals here in Taiwan. Temples holds a lantern fair and Mazu Pligrimage every Lantern Festival (15th, Jan. of the lunar calendar) and Mazu’s Birthday Festival (23rd, Mar. of the lunar calendar). Just like Lunar New Year, Tomb Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, every family here in Taiwan celebrates these two festivals.
Guandu Temple holds activities every year as below:
1.Lunar Chinese New Year: Peace Lamps, Lamps of Brilliance, God of Prosperity Lamps, Wenchang Lamps, Medicine Buddha Lamps and Taisui Lamps will be made available. Worshippers can start lighting up the lamps from the ninth day of the first lunar month at 10am.
2.Celebrating Yuanxiao (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month): A flower lantern exhibition will be held and the opening and lighting ceremony will be held on the first lunar month.
3.Celebrating the feast day of Holy Mother in Heaven: for nine days from the seventeenth to the twenty-fifth day of the third lunar month, religious specialists at the temple will conduct ‘Grand Dipper Ritual to Protect the Country and People’ (Spring Ritual).
4.Ritual of the Precious Penance of the Liang Emperor: this ritual will be conducted by religious specialists for seven days from the 21st to 27th day of the fifth lunar month.
5.Guangdu Temple will hold Yulan Bowl Ritual for three days from the first to third day of the seventh lunar month.
6.Universal salvation of the purgatory will be held for one day on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
7.Commemorating Holy Mother of Heaven’s attainment of Tao: For nine days from the ninth day till the 17th day of the ninth lunar month, ‘Mazu’s Attaining of Enlightenment and Worship of the Dipper Ritual’ (Autumn Ritual) will be held.
8.Year-end expressing thanks to Taisui and Ritual for lighting Lamp of Brilliance will be held on the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month.
9.In response to worshippers’ requests, Guandu Temple has specially invited professional priests to be based at the temple and conduct rituals for ‘fortune- changing’ and ‘soul-retrieving’ for the whole year. The ‘replenishing of wealth storage’ ritual will be held twice every month.
