Xiao Chunxiu had already prepared the incense and offerings for worshipping Mazu last night.
It's actually quite far from the Feng family to the Mazu Temple, mainly because the road is winding and you have to go up the mountain at the end, which takes about half an hour.
Not far from my house, I saw many flashlight beams swaying, clearly indicating that they were all going to worship Mazu.
The Mazu Noodles on Baishi Island are built at the highest point on the island, facing east.
The exact date when the Mazu Temple was built is unknown.
However, it was demolished in the late 1960s and was not rebuilt until more than ten years later with funds raised by the island's residents. It has been rebuilt ever since.
Perhaps because so many people worshipped Mazu on the first day of the lunar calendar, people on the island arrived very early today.
The path up the mountain is narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side, which explains why it gets congested when there are many people.
Feng Ye and his group had just reached the halfway point of the mountain when they encountered A-Can's family coming down the mountain after worshipping Mazu.
After exchanging greetings, everyone went their separate ways, going up and down the mountain.
The mountain road is too narrow; it will block other people's way, making it inconvenient to chat for long.
Upon reaching the summit, one finds a large, flat area, the location of which is unclear—whether it was naturally formed or artificially leveled by ancient people.
The Mazu Temple is located in the center of the flat land, consisting of only one main hall and one side hall.
The main hall is used to worship the goddess Mazu, while the side halls are where the temple keeper lives.
Although there are several places to burn incense, you must start from the main hall no matter what.
Normally it's fine; as long as there aren't too many people, everyone can go in together.
But not today. All the families came together, so we had to queue to get in, with Old Man Lu, the temple keeper, standing guard at the entrance.
Feng Ye and his group arrived at a relatively opportune time; there were only a few households ahead of them in line.
Some people went in and came out quickly, in just three to five minutes, but others were much slower, staying for more than ten minutes.
No one wanted to rush them; they were all from the same island, so even if they didn't know each other, they were familiar with each other, and might even be related by some twist of fate.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, as dawn broke, it was finally Feng Ye and his group's turn to go in.
Feng Jiaqing and Xiao Chunxiu led the way, followed closely by the Feng brothers, Feng Ye and Xiao Chunxiu, as the two families entered the main hall.
Xiao Chunxiu took out the offerings and placed them on the altar in front of Mazu.
You can take the offerings with you after you finish worshiping.
It would be such a waste if the one or two thousand households on Baishi Island couldn't be taken away and were all left in the Mazu Temple.
Of course, you can leave it, but you should move it aside to make room for the next person to use the offering table.
Feng Jiaqing then picked up a handful of incense and lit it on the oil lamp.
When worshipping Mazu on Baishi Island, candles are not allowed; only incense is permitted.
It used to be allowed, but a major incident occurred two years ago. Due to the care of the temple keeper, the candles caused a fire that almost burned down the entire Mazu Temple. As a result, the island's Mazu Temple Council banned candles.
Even today, traces of smoke can still be seen on the statue of Mazu.
Feng Jiaqing lit some incense and gave three sticks to everyone, including the youngest, Feng Xinan.
Everyone held incense sticks high above their heads and bowed in respect to the statue of Mazu.
Feng Xinan remained quiet and followed suit, bowing respectfully.
After the ceremony is over, the incense sticks are placed in the incense burner, and adults naturally do this for the children.
There are actually some rules to follow when inserting incense, but there's just too much incense on the burner.
Since we can't steal someone else's fragrance, we can only make do.
After doing all that, the Feng brothers went to the flat ground outside and each lit a string of firecrackers.
After returning to the main hall, everyone knelt on the prayer cushions and kowtowed three times before they could begin making their wishes.
Everyone was making wishes while muttering them, but no one made a sound.
Feng Ye knelt down devoutly and prayed, "Goddess Mazu, please bless my family with peace and safety, and bless me to return safely from my sea voyages..."
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