Numerous Matsu (Mazu) temples will host elaborate and extensive open-air birthday celebrations for their popular main deity on Sunday, April 20th, the 23rd day of the third lunar month. The festivals will attract hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of believers.
Performances and activities for the preeminent folk goddess will range from lion dances and dragon dances to crowds carrying palanquins to the accompaniment of drums, symbols, gongs and double-reeded flute. Other ceremonies providing community entertainment will include towering gods, blaring horns, deafening firecrackers and continuously burning incense and spirit money.
Mazu’s overall potency or efficacy is broadly lent through temples’ overcoming obstacles, promoting people’s livelihoods and other signs and stories of security and prosperity. Moreover, her power and prestige are underscored by an economy – estimated to generate billions – that continues to expand.