If you think that the 15th of the 1st lunar month marks the end of all Chinese New Year traditional customs and events, then you are wrong. This is because on the 26th of the 1st lunar month, there is another huge event called Guan yin Opens Treasury (观音开库). This is a very old tradition (even the origin of the event have numerous different version) but in general is that devotee believes that this is the day when Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin 观音) will open the treasury to help the poor. Thus by borrowing (借红包) from Guan Yin on this day, one can be blessed with good fortune for the rest of the year. At the end of the year, devotee will repay what they have "borrowed". What better way to be part of this special tradition then to visit the most famous Guan Yin Temple in Singapore: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple at Waterloo Street (四马路) My advice for you if you wish to visit the temple during this day is to visit as early as possible as there will be a long queue to enter the temple. My family and I reach Bugis Mrt Station at around 11am. When we arrive near the temple, the queue have already reached the Bencoolen Link. You can start buying joss sticks ($2/set) from the many stalls around here. From here to the temple is a 20 minute queue. Best come prepared with caps as the weather is very warm. Do not be like many in the photo carrying umbrellas as there is a very high chance of hitting/poking people around you and worse your umbrella might accidentally be poked by the joss sticks around you. There are many officers keeping the order around the temple so overall the process of entering the temple is still smooth. I did not take any pictures from this point onwards as 1. There are too many people 2. We are not allowed to take pictures. Basically after you enter the gate to the temple, you can offer your joss sticks if you have bought them. After you enter the temple comes the highlight of this event: Borrow from Guan Yin (借红包)
As mentioned before, you need to repay if you have "borrowed" from Guan Yin last year. So for those who have borrowed the year before, you need to prepare a red packet to return. There are no fixed rule as to how much to return but the general saying is to return more than what you have borrowed. Just look for the signs that says "还红包 Return Hong Bao". Next you can start to borrow from Guan Yin. This time you can look for the signs that says "借红包 Borrow Hong Bao". Take note that each person is limited to the collection of maximum 4 red packets. After collection of the red packets, you are done. So what next? Again there is no fixed rule on what to do with the red packets. Normally my mum would ask me to keep the red packets in my wallet for good luck purpose. At the end of the year before borrowing again, she would ask me to open the red packets and used the money (usually 10 cents) to buy sweets. This is just one of the many traditional chinese customs and events that you can experience in Singapore. Regardless whether you are a faith believer or not, it is an interesting event that you can visit at least once. So I have borrowed from Guan Yin this year and I hereby wish good health and wealth for my family and friends for the whole year. Huat Ah!!!
7 Comments
SOS
1/7/2020 01:46:28 pm
Hello, I chanced upon this post.
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Papazhao kelvin
2/15/2020 11:47:41 am
Hi.
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Papazhao kelvin
2/15/2020 12:04:02 pm
This year the event falls on the (19 feb).
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Yolanda
2/18/2020 04:35:17 am
Is the event on this year?
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T
2/18/2020 10:22:01 pm
yes, tomorrow , 19 Feb 2020
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F
2/19/2020 09:01:11 am
The event in 2020 has been cancelled.
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Hendy
6/13/2020 08:09:01 pm
Dear friend
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KelvinYo. I am from Singapore. I love to travel. Follow me as I share my experiences and tips for budget travelling as well as my hunt for Ho Kangs around Singapore. Archives
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