Two weeks after the Birthday Festival of A-ma, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually falls around beginning or mid May), Macau celebrates three significant occasions: the Birthday of Lord Buddha, the Birthday of Tam Kong and the Feast of the Drunken Dragon.
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Of the three, The most popular among tourists is, by far, the Feast of the Drunken Dragon. This unusual local festival is observed mostly by fish traders and fishermen. The festival's main event starts in the morning, next to Kwan Tai Temple (near Senado Square), from where groups of drunk men dance their way through markets and lanes, while waving wooden dragons' heads and tails.
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The story behind the origin of this festival is almost identical to the one behind the well known Cheung Chau bun festival in neighbouring Hong Kong (they are also celebrated on the very same day...). A legend tells of a plague that devastated the area many years ago... Praying to the Buddha for help against the plague, villagers were carrying his statue through the fields when suddenly a giant python leaped out of the river on to the bank, blocking the way. One of the monks slashed at the monster, cutting it into three pieces which were tossed into the river.
The pieces writhed about and then, amid a great wind and thunder, they flew up into the sky. Miraculously, the people recovered from the plague and the land which has been stained with the creature's blood proved to be unusually fertile. Believing they had been saved by a divine dragon, the locals carved its image and at the annual birthday of the Lord Buddha they drank wildly and danced with the dragon.
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The birthday of the Lord Buddha is marked by visits to temples. Devotees are bathing the statue of Buddha, giving it a good clean-up.
As already mentioned, the third significant occasion that Macau celebrates on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month of the Chinese calendar is the birthday of Tam Kong. Tam Kong (literally "Lord Tam") is a sea deity, worshiped mainly in Hong Kong and Macau. In Chinese folk legends, he was one of the gods who could forecast the weather.
The celebrations include a street parade and Chinese opera performances, as well as Lion & Dragon dances. Traditional offerings are made and firecrackers are burnt near Coloane Village's Tam Kong Temple.
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The procession of Our Lady of Fatima is held on 13th May. The parade moves from Santo Domingo Church (Largo Senado) to Our Lady of Penha Church, where an open air mass is held. The event commemorates the miracle, when Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal, on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13th May.
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Next in line: The Dragon Boat Festival: Rowing in honour of a Chinese patriot
