Also
known as the "Festival of the bun hills", the celebration takes
place in the month of May. The event includes parades, opera performances
and children dressed in colorful costumes. The Cheung Chau Festival starts
on the 8th day of the Fourth Moon and continues for 4 days. The four days of
religious rites-- Chinese operas and the burning of paper clothing as gifts,
is supposed to make ghosts and peevish spirits contented. During this time
the entire Hong Kong is thronged with the visitor’s form all over the
world. There are processions and celebrations at every nook and corner.
The Bun Festival Celebration
The most breath-taking trait is the bun towers - large bamboo structures
several stories high heaped with sweet buns. These bun towers are festooned
in front of the Pak Tai Temple to solemnize the ‘Pak Ta’, the God
of the Sea. There are several temples in Hong Kong honoring the Pak Tai who,
according to legend, threw the prince of evil out of heaven. In the past, a
signal was given and the young clamber ups the towers, picking as many buns
as they could hold. It was believed the more buns you grabbed the more good
luck it will bring.
The processions
The processions and parades held during this time are more magnificent and
colorful. People costume as renowned figures, ride on flowered floats and
walk on stilts. The young play a major role in the processions with children
perched above the crowd in makeup and costumes. They almost seem hanging in
air.
Other performances, such as Chinese operas, lion dances, and religious
services are displayed to entertain both locals and visitors alike.
Usually the festival arrives just before the beginning of the fishing
season, therefore, the bun festival is also celebrated in honoring of
Sea-God, to ensure righteous weather and a brimful catch. In any event, this
unusual celebration is well worth a side trip to the island.
