Ancestral Temple Festival of Mazu Festival

On the day of Mazu's birth and ascension, grand ceremonies were held in Meizhou ancestral temple and Mazu Tempel (Palace) all over the country.

Since the Southern Song Dynasty, emperors have not only praised Mazu frequently, but also issued imperial edicts and sacrifices. During the Yuan Dynasty, courtiers were sent to Meizhou three times to offer sacrifices on behalf of the emperor. During the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, a royal sacrifice was held in Nanjing, presided over by the minister of Taichang Temple, accompanied by music and dance. After Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty unified Taiwan Province Province, he sent courtiers to Meizhou for many times to pay homage. Qing Yongzheng was reinstated and ordered Putian to kneel down three times and knock on the door nine times.

In order to carry forward the traditional culture of China and guide Mazu's ritual towards standardization, 1994, based on historical materials and folk ritual, the Sacrifice to Meizhou Ancestral Temple was formulated. Over the past few years, the music and dance of commemorative ceremonies have been continuously artistically processed, with a view to combining religious ceremonies and artistic appreciation more perfectly.

Tianfei Palace is held on Mazu Christmas Day on March 23rd of the lunar calendar every year, and the memorial ceremony of Meizhou Ancestral Temple is held in Meizhou Ancestral Temple Square or Xintianhou Square. The whole duration of the festival is about 45 minutes, and the scale of the festival can be divided into three types: large, medium and small, which are: 1, drum-beating and cannon-firing; 2, ceremonial, guards in place, musicians and dancers in place; 3. The priest and his entourage are in place; 4. Welcome the gods to come to incense; 5, drinking; 6. Read the message; 7. bow down and kowtow; 8. The first gift, playing "Peace and Joy"; 9. Performing "Asian Sacrifice Ceremony" and "Joy of the Sea"; 10, the final dedication ceremony, playing "The Joy of Xianping"; 1 1, burn the silk; 12, three kneeling and nine knocking; 13, a gift to God.

The music and dance of Meizhou Zumiao Festival revolves around three sacrifices, which are divided into five movements: welcoming the gods, the first sacrifice, the second sacrifice, the last sacrifice and sending them to the gods. These three songs are called Pinghai, Peace and Xianping, and are sung by male and female singers. Bashu Dance is the highest standard artistic dance in ancient times, which consists of 32 male dancers and 32 female dancers respectively. Because ancient wooden sailboats mainly relied on wind when sailing at sea, once they encountered rough waves, their lives and goods were in danger, so fishermen and sailboat merchants often pinned their hopes on the protection of Mazu, the sea god. If we can save the day, it will be Mazu's magical power. We must build a ship based on the protected ship as a model and sacrifice it in Mazu Tempel, and hope to continue to be blessed by Mazu in the future.

Temple Island Tianhou Palace in Changdao County, Shandong Province was built by Fujian people in Song Dynasty. There are more than 350 original ship models, including the model of the warship Weiyuan presented by Deng Shichang in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Unfortunately, all these were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. Temple Island Tianhou Palace has been turned into the maritime museum in Changdao County, and there are dozens of ship models such as East Boat, East Sea Boat, Sand Boat and Motorboat.

There is a wooden boat hanging in the middle of the main hall of Tianhou Palace in Baitang, Hong Kong. In the hall, there is a model Chinese sailboat, about 2 meters long. In front of the goddess, around the table and by the wall, there are icons of ancient cannons and heaven on board.

The ship model of Mazu Pavilion in Macao was made by imitating a Fujian cargo ship that drifted to Macao during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. There is also a stone boat carved with huge stones next to the temple, which is quite similar to the ancient Song Dynasty boat unearthed in Houzhu Port, Quanzhou.

Shen Xiao Palace in Zhonglun, Xiamen is located in Hecuo Shunji Palace in Xiamen, which was founded in Song Dynasty and is now located in Zhonglun Nursery. There have been many reconstructions in history, and the last one was in 1993. Seen from a height, Shen Xiao Palace is surrounded by green trees and surrounded by blooming trees and flowers. Walking into Shen Xiao Palace is like walking into a green world and a sea of flowers. All kinds of flowers and trees are scattered all over the place, which makes people feel relaxed and happy. Legend or apparition is a psychological reaction that people turn to Mazu to survive in the shipwreck crisis. For example, it is better to say that Mazu is a "spiritual victory law", and the role of spirit is often irreplaceable by other forces in some cases. This is the mystery of "belief".