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RELIGION AND CUSTOM

Other leading deities include Kwun Yum, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy; Kwan Tai, God of War and the source of righteousness; Pak Tai, Lord of the North and local patron of Cheung Chau Island; Hung Shing, God of the South Seas and a weather prophet; and Wong Tai Sin, after whom an area of New Kowloon is named. The temple there in his honour-in the middle of a public housing estate-is a fine example of modern craftsmanship following traditional Chinese architecture. Steps are being taken to provide facilities for the fast growing population in public housing estates to worship and celebrate religious festivals.

Taoist and Buddhist organisations help to meet welfare, educational and medical needs in Hong Kong, either directly or by contributing to charitable organisations. Many temples have donation boxes to collect money for schools, hospitals or charities.

In the New Territories, traditional clan organisations have been preserved. Many villages have an ancestral hall where ancestral tablets of the clan are kept and ven- erated. The hall is the centre of both religious and secular activities among villagers of the same clan. Animism is found in the form of shrines or simply joss sticks at the foot of certain rocks and trees within which spirits are believed to dwell. It is especially common among Hakka villagers.

The Chinese Temples Committee--set up by the government in 1928—has res- ponsibility for preserving and restoring temples, and also for managing temples when asked to do so by people concerned. In 1976 there were 41 temples under the direct control of the committee. Nearly $163,000 was spent throughout the year on repairs to temples under direct management or control, and $97,000 was allocated to the Secretary for the New Territories for repairs to temples in the New Territories.

There are five major festivals in the Chinese calendar, with the Lunar New Year being first and foremost. Gifts and visits are exchanged among friends and relatives, and children receive ‘lucky money'. During the Ching Ming Festival in spring, an- cestral graves are visited. In early summer, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated with dragon boat races and by eating cooked rice in lotus leaves. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon. Gifts of mooncakes, wines and fruits are exchanged, and adults and children go into the parks and countryside at night with colourful lanterns. Chung Yeung is on the ninth day of the ninth moon, when large crowds climb various hills in remembrance of an ancient Chinese family's escape from death and misfortune by fleeing to the top of a high mountain. Family graves are also visited on this day.

Christianity

The Christian community in Hong Kong is estimated to comprise about 10 per cent of the population. Of these 440,000 people, slightly more than half are Roman Catholic and the rest Protestant.

Organised Christianity dates back almost to the foundation of Hong Kong, the first churches being established in 1842. Today the Hong Kong Church Directory lists nearly 50 different denominations and sect groups. They include the major Pro- testant denominations of the world-such as the Adventist, Anglican, Alliance,