 Open-Air Banquet on Lantern’s Holiday at ChenAn Temple, MaMingShang |
Built up more than three hundred years ago at Mamingshan, the JhenAn Temple essentially is offering sacrifice to WuNienCianSui that has many worshippers. There are twelve statues of WuNienCianSui, and each has his birthday in different month. For convenience of offering sacrifice, it is fixed that the twenty-nine day of tenth lunar month will be the day to offer sacrifice to WuNienCiansui as his birthday. And a grand sacrifice offering ceremony will be held every five years by building up a giant altar for sacrifice and to pray for peace.
However, to follow the custom, JhenAn Temple also holds two major sacrifice-offering ceremonies in spring and autumn respectively. The spring sacrifice-offering ceremony is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month. During the ceremony, people respectfully ask WuNienCianSui to leave the temple and make a tour around the town followed by the people of the vicinity of the town who group themselves in several kind of Iges and live formations.
Till now, Jhen An Temple is best known for its “Open-Air Banquet on the 15th day of first lunar month”, which has become a major feature of sacrifice offering activity held by Jhen An Temple.
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