Mazu Beliefs about Mazu Festival

Mazu is a Taoist sea god belief centered on the southeastern coast of China. It is also known as the Holy Mother of Heaven, the Queen of Heaven, the Queen of Heaven, the Concubine of Heaven, the Concubine of Heaven, the Empress of Meizhou, etc. The two guardian gods who watch and listen to the world for Mazu are the clairvoyant (also known as General Jinjing) who holds a moon-browed ax in his right hand and raises his left hand to his forehead to make a farsighted look; Turn your ear to the side to listen to sounds (also known as Shuijing General). During Zheng He's voyages to the West during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, it was the peak of the spread of Mazu belief overseas. In addition, with the large and continuous overseas immigration of Chinese, the spread of Mazu belief has become wider and deeper, spreading from Fujian to Zhejiang, Guangdong and other coastal provinces, and to Taiwan, Ryukyu, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Japan, and Thailand. It spreads in places like China, Malaysia, Singapore, and other places. There are Tianhou Temple or Mazu temples in Shanghai, Nanjing, and along the coasts of Shandong and Liaoning. Even Mazu temples have begun to appear in Europe and America.

Meizhou Island, known as the "Pearl of the Sea", is the hometown of Mazu, the famous sea goddess, and has a unique Mazu culture. There are more than 4,000 Mazu temples in Meizhou distributed in more than 20 countries and regions around the world, with more than 200 million believers. There are more than 800 Mazu temples in Taiwan alone, with more than 14 million believers. two-thirds of the total population. Since its opening to the outside world, more than one million people have made pilgrimages to Meizhou Island every year, including 100,000 Taiwan compatriots. Especially on the 23rd of the third lunar month and the ninth of the ninth lunar month, they are Mazu’s birthday and ascension to heaven respectively. On the commemoration day of the Emergence, the scale of pilgrimage tourism is unprecedented.

Mazu was born in 960 AD. Legend has it that Mazu often appears to protect ships and save shipwrecks. The 23rd day of the third lunar month and the ninth day of the ninth lunar month are respectively the birth and death anniversaries of Mazu, who is regarded as the god of the sea. Every day In these two days, tens of thousands of Taiwan compatriots and local people have come to worship Mazu. During the festival, there are Mazu worship, Mazu cultural seminars, and handicraft exhibitions. You can watch distinctive folk songs and dances and taste Fujian cuisine.