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Celebrating Festivals and Divine Birthdays Through Daoist Rituals in Hong Kong Temples
| Date: | 2025/10/25 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon |
| Venue: | Hong Kong Central Library (Lecture Theatre, G/F) |
| Speaker: | Professor LAI Chi Tim, Professor, Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Organiser: | Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries and the Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK |
| Remarks: | Lecture will be cancelled if Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 8 or above or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force at or after 8:00 am. |
| Enquiry: | Promotion and Programming Unit, Hong Kong Central Library (Monday to Friday: 9:00a.m. - 1:00p.m.; 2:00p.m. - 5:30p.m.) Telephone: 2921 0285 The Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Telephone: 3943 7382 |
Local temples in Hong Kong, despite serving as religious sites where worshippers make offerings to deities, are open to everyone regardless of religious belief. All visitors are welcome to pay homage, seek divine blessings, and engage in celebrations of divine birthdays and rituals to share with deities the joy of these ceremonies.
Temple keepers, known as sizhu 司祝 or miaozhu 廟祝, do not lead large-scale, collective rituals, such as celebrations of divine birthdays. Instead, they invite external “hearth-dwelling” (huoju 火居) Daoist masters from the School of Orthodox Unity or adepts of Daoist altars from the School of Complete Perfection to officiate such ceremonies. Similarly, the Jiao Festival rituals held in villages in the New Territories are entrusted to these Daoist practitioners and conducted in accordance with Daoist ritual protocols. This lecture focuses on divine birthday celebrations and ritual practices in local Hong Kong temples, exploring the ritual traditions and protocols these ceremonies follow, and the roles that Daoist rituals play in temple beliefs.
Conducted in Cantonese. Free admission by reservation. First come, first served. Registration for the talk: Please visit https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13714206 for registration. Seats are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
