Memorial Day comes and goes in one day (May 25), but one of Hong Kong’s most colorful cultural celebration events, Cheung Chau Bun Festival, lasts for two days, starting May 25 (Monday) and lasting until May 26 at midnight (Tuesday) – and it looks to be something amazing.
This festival has over 100 years of history. Every year, thousands of people descend upon the tiny island for The Piu Sik (Floating Colors) Parade, Lucky Bun (Ping On Bun) and The Bun Scrambling Competition, the ancient custom during the festival.
The tradition has been passed down for generations. It all started with a plague that devastated Cheung Chau in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The islanders built an altar in front of the Pak Tai Temple and petitioned the god Pak Tai to drive off the evil spirits besieging the island, while parading statues of deities through the narrow lanes of their village. The plague ended after the performance of these Taoist rituals and 100 years later the rituals are still performed in a festival that is listed as an intangible part of China’s cultural heritage.
To ensure the tradition keeps passing on, every year, Cheung Chau Islanders fuse the new elements with the custom to draw the attention from the young. This year, K-Pop stars will be featured by one of the Piu Sik parade teams, the first-ever Ping On (Lucky) Macaron with Chinese tea flavor was invented, and there is of course more to be found on the island where the festivities are being held.
The 2-day event includes Taoist ceremonies, a Piu Sik Parade and an exciting Bun Scrambling Competition involving a tower of buns. The highlight of the festival is the Piu Sik (Floating Colors) Parade. This dramatic reenactment of the ceremonial parade held to drive away a plague a century ago sees young children, dressed in the guises of traditional deities and modern celebrities, balance on poles … accompanied by gongs and lion dancers, appearing to float above the crowds in a carnival-like procession.
Opposite the Pak Tai Temple, competitors stand poised at the bottom of an enormous bamboo tower studded with imitation buns. On the signal, they scramble up it and try to collect as many lucky buns as possible. The higher the buns, the more points they are worth.
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