The twenty-third day of the third lunar month of the Chinese calendar is marked by the Birthday Festival of A-Ma. (It usually falls in late April or early May).
A-Ma (also known as Tin Hau or Matsu) is the territory's most favorite deity and can even be referred to as the legendary mother of Macau.
Considered as the "Queen of Heaven and Goddess of the Sea", this Taoist goddess was born, according to legend, in 906 AD on Meizhou Island, Fujian, and since she did not cry when she was born, she was given the name "Silent Girl."
There are many legends about her and the sea... Although she started swimming relatively late, at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer and made a name for herself as the protector of fishermen and seafarer.
Macau's best known legend tells of the story about a violent rainstorm that was about to wreck and drown a fisher boat near the shores of today's Macau. Just when everything looked lost, a young woman ordered the sea to calm and saved the situation... The young lady was no one else but A-ma herself, and the relived passengers decided to name the bay after her, calling it A-Ma-Gau (which means, more or less, "the bay of A-Ma") and a temple, dedicated to the beloved deity, was built in 1488.
After her death, the families of many fishermen and sailors began to pray to her in honor of her acts of courage in trying to save those at sea. Much of her popularity, in comparison to other sea deities, resulted from her role as a compassionate motherly protector, completely different from authoritarian father figures.
On her birthday-festival, devotees are holding pilgrimages to the old A-Ma temple on Macau Peninsula and offerings are made. There are also performances of Chinese opera.
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Next in line: Drunken Dragons and Birthday to Buddha...
