Kwun Yum’s Birthday: Celebrating the Deity’s Incarnation

Description

The deity Kwun Yum celebrates their birthday on four occasions each Chinese lunar year. The first celebration takes place on the 19th day of the second lunar month, which lands on 6 April this year. It is believed that on this day, Kwun Yum incarnated as the Third Princess of the Hing Lam State (興林國), a legendary state said to be located west of the sacred Mount Meru.

The significance of the incarnation makes this day the most popular Kwun Yum Festival of the four, sometimes seen as the true birthday of Kwun Yum. Many worshippers seek to establish spiritual kinship with Kwun Yum on this day, praying for Kwun Yum’s blessings on children of the family. Popular places to perform this ritual include Hung Hom’s Kwun Yum Temple and the Tai Hang’s Lin Fa Kung.

Different villages in Hong Kong also have different preferences for which Kwun Yum Festival to celebrate. Villages that celebrate Kwun Yum’s Incarnation include the Tsiu Keng Village of Sheung Shui, whose Kwun Yum Temple has over 180 years of history. On the day of Kwun Yum’s incarnation, the village hosts activities including joss stick offerings and lion dances. Faa1 Paau3 Associations (花炮會, translated literally as Flower Cannon Associations) from nearby villages also come to join the celebrations, crafting and presenting paper floral shrines as offerings.