278
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
be registered with the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and are under the general control of a statutory Chinese Temples Committee unless specifically exempted by law.
The greatest festival of the Chinese calendar is the Lunar New Year, which is welcomed in Hong Kong in the traditional manner with a deafening barrage of firecrackers, for the free discharge of which general permission is granted for two days. The traditional customs of exchanging gifts and visiting relatives and friends are also widely observed. Other festivals observed by the population as a whole are the Ching Ming festival in the Spring, when visits are paid to the graves of the family ancestors, Chung Yeung in the ninth moon, when large crowds flock to the Peak and other high points in memory of a Chinese family many centuries ago who escaped death by fleeing to the top of a mountain, and the Mid-Autumn Moon festival, the occasion for the sale and con- sumption of quantities of moon-cakes. Certain other festivals are particularly celebrated by specific sections of the community. Fisherfolk pay especial and colourful attention to the birthday of their patron saint, Tin Hau, at her temples; the fifth day of the fifth moon is the occasion for the traditional Dragon-Boat races; and the large and industrious Chiu Chow community exuberantly celebrate the Yu Lan Tsit, or Festival of the Dead, with elaborate Buddhist ceremonies and theatrical performances.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.