臺灣文化「譯」起讀

Since ancient times, the formation of festivals is related to people's everyday life closely. People used these festivals to show the piety and gratitude to ancestors. Furthermore, these festivals remind people that traditional virtue is very important.

In Taiwan, temples and religious rituals are everywhere, such as the birthday of gods, the birthday of Buddha and the ceremonies of Taoist festivals. People called these ceremonies "temple fair".

Temple fair is a kind of Taiwanese religious activity. During the Chinese New Year, Folk temples usually hold these temple fairs in order to show the gratitude to Taiwanese gods . Temple fair is originally an entertaining activity in order to transmit the religious belief and increase believers. The activity includes wonderful performances, such as dances and Taiwanese operas.

However, different geographical locations and different customs worship different gods. "Wangyeh" and “Matsu” are the most common gods in folk belief in Taiwan. This article will introduce one of the most famous temple fairs, “Burning Wangyeh boat”.

People used “Burning Wangyeh boat” to celebrate the birthday of “Wangyeh”. It is a well-known activity along the southwest coast of Taiwan and has been one of the most famous temple fairs in Taiwan. This activity aims to dispel of diseases and evil spirits. After a few years, people hold this activity to pray for healthy and peaceful life. The biggest temple of Pingtung, Donglong temple, holds “Burning Wangyeh boat” every three years.

The activity lasts for 7 days. On the first day, the temple will hold several rituals, such as "Welcoming Wangyeh" and "passing over the fire". From the second day, people will parade around Donggang for four days. On the sixth day, people will hold “Burning the king boat”. On the seventh day, people will send “Wangyeh” away. This activity is to drive away diseases and evil spirits. After this activity, Wangyeh will bless all his believers to be safe and healthy.

In Taiwan, worshipping gods is very common. Although gods will bless and protect his believers, people still shouldn't commit crime or do something bad. Furthermore, people should have a kind heart to help people in need.