The Tests for the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students are scheduled to kick off next month. On April 17, the Dawang Tiangong Temple in Tainan’s Yongkang District held a ceremony to pray for students taking the tests. Many parents hoping to receive divine blessings attended the event with their children.
This is the third straight year in which the Dawang Tiangong Temple has held a blessing ceremony in April under the theme of “enlightening the student test-takers.” Temple chairman Wang Da-ming says the ceremony intends to help the students get admission to their desired schools by invoking the five deities of study, including Lord Wenchang, worshiped at the temple. Nearly a thousand people who signed up for the ceremony arrived continuously throughout the day.
Students from the nearby Dawang Junior High School, led by school principal Yang Li-chun, came to take part in the ceremony. Yang emphasized that students were free to decide whether to attend the ceremony or not, according to their own religious beliefs. He hoped the blessings from the gods would help students focus on preparing for the tests and keep them calm during the exam so that they can fully demonstrate their learning and earn good grades.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者吳俊鋒
The temple has also prepared a variety of offerings, each having a different symbolic meaning. Among the impressive array of offerings were scallions, celery, bamboo shoots, stuffed buns and rice dumplings, respectively symbolizing intelligence, love for learning, success, school admission and winning. There were also osmanthus for wealth, kumquat leaves for good fortune, salad oil for hard work, white radish for good omens and sugar cane for promotion.
(Liberty Times, translated by Yu-an Tu)
國中教育會考下個月登場，台南市永康區大灣天公廟四月十七日為應試的學生們舉辦祈福法會，不少家長帶著孩子參加，希望神明保佑。
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者吳俊鋒
大灣天公廟已連續第三年在四月份舉辦以「開竅考生」為主題的祈福大典。該廟董事長王大明表示，主要是透過法會，恭請供奉的五文昌帝君降臨，保佑眾學子金榜題名，有近千人報名，陸續前來參拜。
附近的大灣中學，由校長楊力鈞帶隊參拜，他強調這場祈福活動基於考生的個人信仰，採自由報名。他希望考生能在神明加持下專心準備考試，並冷靜應試，充分發揮實力取得好成績。
廟方也準備各具寓意的供品，有象徵「聰明」的蔥、「勤學」的芹菜、「順利」的竹筍、「包上」的包子、「包中」的粽子、「貴氣」的桂花、「吉利」的金桔葉、「加油」的沙拉油、「好彩頭」的白蘿蔔，以及「節節高昇」的甘蔗等，琳瑯滿目。(自由時報記者吳俊鋒)
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