Shanshui Shangdi Temple (山水上帝廟) in Penghu County’s Magong City (馬公) on Monday held a ceremony to dot the eyes of a giant turtle made of rice, one of many events across the county based on a turtle theme ahead of the Lantern Festival this weekend.
The giant turtle, which is made of bags of rice and weighs 5.28 tonnes, underwent the “eye opening” ceremony, because tradition says it breathes life into art and ceremonial offerings.
Symbolically bringing the turtle to life also initiated activities in the community for the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 24 this year.
Photo: CNA
Penghu County, home to more than 200 temples, has a long-standing tradition in which residents observe the Lantern Festival by praying with pastries in the shape of turtles, an animal long associated with longevity in Chinese culture.
Temples across the county prepare pastries, while the bags of rice that made up the giant turtle are to be given to underprivileged households in the county after the festival.
Other temples in Penghu also have giant turtle creations, including a super-sized rice-bag turtle at Longmen Guanyin Temple (龍門觀音宮) in Husi Township (湖西), which weighs 25.8 tonnes.
It is 20 times bigger than it was 13 years ago.
Shanshui Shangdi Temple has also prepared a gold turtle weighing about 15.5kg, which is a prize in a lucky draw, while Suogang Beiji Temple (鎖港北極殿) in Magong is offering a similar prize weighing about 9.7kg.
Ta Chih Kan Lung Te Temple (白沙赤崁龍德宮) in Baisha Township (白沙) has vehicles as prizes, including scooters and a speed boat worth NT$2.5 million (US$79,385).
The Lantern Festival is celebrated across Taiwan. A local idiom says that it is observed with flying sky lanterns in the north, shooting fireworks at people in the east and south and turtle-shaped prizes in the west.
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