~ March ~
Ch'ing
Ming
Ch'ing Ming, or "Remembrance of Ancestors Day" means "clear and bright". On this day, families visit cemeteries to sweep their ancestors' graves and repaint the inscriptions on the headstones to show their respect. Incense sticks and red candles are lighted. Rice, wine, tea and many other foods are set out. Paper clothing and spirit money are burned. The whole family kneels to pay respects. Before they leave the graves, they tuck several pieces of offering paper under a piece of stone on the top of the grave and flap a little in the wind which is a sign that the grave has been tended for another year.
Pak Tai
Pak Tai, its name means Ruler of the North and his full title is Superior Divinity of the Deep Dark Heaven, True Soldier of the North. Pak Tai fought barefoot, hair flowing over shoulders and dressed in a black robe with a golden breast-plate. Pak Tai was appointed to be the commander-in-chief and was asked to attack the Demons. He overcame the Demon King and all his evil hosts, returned victorious and to be awarded an evengrander title: First Lord of Heaven. In Hong Kong, there are some temples to Pak Tai, at each of which offerings are made on this day. Celebrations with operas and fa p'aau are held. The Bun Festival is also connected with Pak Tai.
Birthday
of T'in Hau
T'in Hau, Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of the Sea has a special place in Hong Kong's heart. On the 23rd day of the Third Moon long time ago, a red light was seen descending upon the house of a poor fisherman called Lin. Soon afterwards, a baby girl was born there. She was a most unusual baby, never cried and even showed many signs of holiness in her childhood. One day, she dreamed that she saw her father and two brothers on the junks in the midst of a storm. She grasped the junks by the rigging and started to pull them ashore. At the very moment, her mother shook her arm to wake her up and caused her to let go of one ropes. Then, when her brothers returned home, they described that a beautiful girl had walked across the raging waters and dragged their junk to safety but had been unable to save her fater. After her death, still unmarried, stories began to be told by sailors to whom she had appeared in stormy weather and saved from certain death. The red light of her birth was often seens upon the mast-head and greeted as a sign of her protection called "Our Mother's Fire". Later, almost every ship was carrying an image of Miss Lin and more than forty temples dedicated to her in Hong Kong. For her birthday, the fishermen decorate their boats and gather at her temples praying for good catches during the coming year.
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