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CHAPTER 19
Religion and Custom
ADHERENTS of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Judaism are among Hong Kong's variety of ethnic, religious and cultural groups. Ancestor worship is widely practised in Hong Kong owing to the strong influence of Confucianism. Apart from offering religious instruction, many major religious bodies have established schools and health and welfare facilities.
Traditional Festivals
Five major Chinese festivals offer occasions for family union and feasting. Foremost is the Lunar New Year, celebrated in the first few days of the first moon. Friends and relatives exchange visits and gifts while children and unmarried adults receive lai see, or 'lucky' money.
The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon in memory of an ancient Chinese poet who committed suicide by jumping into a river rather than compromise his honour. The festival has developed into a joyous event characterised by dragon boat races and rice dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves.
For the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth moon, adults and children gather under the full moon with colourful lanterns and exchange gifts of mooncakes, fruit and wine.
The Ching Ming Festival in spring and the Chung Yeung Festival on the ninth day of the ninth moon are occasions for visiting ancestral graves. Many people mark Chung Yeung by climbing hills in remembrance of an ancient Chinese family which escaped plague and death by fleeing to a mountain top.
Buddhism and Taoism
Buddhism and Taoism, traditional Chinese religions, have a large local following with more than 600 Chinese temples in the territory. Buddhist and Taoist deities are often honoured together in the same temple. Leading deities include Buddha, Kwun Yum (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) and Lui Cho (a Taoist god).
May 22, 1999 (the eighth day of the fourth moon), marked the 2 543th birthday of Buddha. For the first time, Buddha's Birthday became a public holiday. To commemorate the event, the Hong Kong Buddhist Association organised a 'Worship Ritual for the Buddha's Tooth Relic' at the Hong Kong Coliseum, which attracted more than 300 000 worshippers.
Deified mortals are revered in recognition of their feats. Since Hong Kong has always depended on the sea originally for fishing and then for trade- - Tin Hau,