Kuanyin, the goddess offering universal salvation, will be honored at hundreds of Buddhist temples in Taiwan for her putative birthday on Thursday, March 28, the nineteenth day of the second lunar month.
Also known as the Perceiver of Sounds for her ability to hear the cries of humanity, the beloved deity will receive auspicious offerings throughout the day from her numerous followers as they wish for health, wealth, good luck, long life, success, and forgiveness.These offerings will include a vegetarian birthday banquet, light and sweet delicacies, plastic bottles of so-called great compassion water, fresh fruit and flowers, burning candles and incense, and spirit money to be burned at the end of the day.
The celestial goddess will also enjoy sutra recitations, prayers, and meditation, and temples dedicated to her will perform ceremonies with live music and entertainment.
As a bodhisattva, Kuanyin is not given a date for her birth. Instead, among worshipers in Taiwan, her birth date is claimed to be that of the young princess Miaoshan, who eventually was revealed to be Kuanyin. This radical personal transformation resulted in Kuanyin becoming a potent female figure in a dominant male hierarchy and one of the most honored divinities in Taiwan today.