Traditional Festivals on Lamma Island ( 2014/07/31 )
| On this peaceful and tranquil island, we embrace the beauty of nature and the uniqueness of local cultures. Every year, local residents are thrilled to get themselves prepared for some special occasions, such as Chinese New Year, Tin Hau Festival and Da Jiu Festival. Chinese New Year Lamma Island is one of the few remaining places in Hong Kong where traditional Chinese New Year celebrations still take place. At the stroke of midnight, fireworks will be set off by the main families of the villages, a ritual to frighten away evil spirits that can last up to 30 minutes. Tin Hau Festival There are three temples on Lamma for locals to worship Tin Hau, the goddess for the sea and fishermen. As its name suggests, the festival is to celebrate the birth of Tin Hau, and therefore, the festival is extremely important for a traditional island community where fishing is their core business. Tin Hau Festival is celebrated in anticipation of family safety, peace, fine weather and full nets throughout the coming year. Lamma Island hosts a vivid celebration every year where locals adorn boats with colourful ribbons and make floral paper offerings known as Fa Pau, praising the goddess for past protection and praying for future luck. The most eye-catching event is the Cantonese opera performances, where a temporary venue named Bamboo Theatre, is specially constructed for hosting the event. Famous actors like Mui Suet See, Lam Kam Tong, Ng Chin Fung, Wong Chiu Kwan has performed for Lamma Island’s Tin Hau Festival for years. Da Jiu Festival Da Jiu festival is a Taoist ceremony of sacrifices, and is held in almost all rural communities in Hong Kong, particularly those from fishermen and farmers decent. The ritual is for asking the Taoist deities’ peace and rest in that area. Lamma Island’s Da Jiu Festival is celebrated once every 4 years and the latest one was held at Sok Kwu Wan in 2011. Besides helping the King of Ghost to prepare for his final performance, the Namo master will post an annunciation and hang a Dai Law Tin (a banner representing the highest level of 36 heavens in the Taoist culture) on the alter. At the same time, lots of local residents will bring their children to get ready for the “crawling underneath the King’s legs” ritual for the sake of good fortune. Traditional festivals always reflect the unique cultural elements of the local community. To keep these local cultural elements intact, we must strengthen the amount of conservation work in order to keep these vulnerable traditional local cultures lasting. |
 A temporary venue, the Bamboo Theatre, built for Lamma Island’s Tin Hau Festival  Cantonese opera performance for Lamma Island’s Tin Hau Festival  Poster of the Cantonese opera performances for Lamma Island’s Tin Hau Festival |
