Festival of the Heavenly God
People and Culture - Chinese Festivals
Festival of the Heavenly God or Jade Emperor falls on January or February or 9th day of Chinese New Year. [ Year of the Tiger 2010 - it falls on 21 Feb, night or 22nd Feb eary morning ]
What the celebration is about.................
This festival starts in the early morning of the 9th day of the Chinese lunar calen-dar. The festival marks the birthday of the Jade Emperor (in Hokkien: Th’ nee Kong) and is a very important festival to Chinese Toaists and Buddhists. Though the Jade Emperor is the supreme ruler in Taoism, in Buddhism, he is the Guardian God, Shi-tan, who lives in the centre of the universe.
For the Hokkien community this is a very important festival and is thus widely celebrated in Penang and the northern part of the peninsular. On the night of the 8th day of the lunar year at about midnight, prayers and food offerings are made at the front entrance of Chinese homes. For the Hokkiens 'a must' offering is the 'kam chia' or sugarcane.
In Penang, you can see this festival celebrated on a grand scale at the Clan Jetties.
