Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 08 April, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

The annual Mazu procession began at 1:20 am on Monday（pic from 拱天宮）

Taiwan’s biggest religious procession took off in the early hours of Monday morning with 10,000 worshippers participating in a pilgrimage in honor of the goddess of the sea, Mazu.

At 1:20 in the morning, 10,000 worshippers gather at Baishatun Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County to kick off the annual Mazu pilgramage, one of the biggest religious processions in the world.

Former Premier William Lai, who’s vying for the ruling party presidential nomination, helps bring the Mazu idol out of the temple to her palanquin.

She and her worshippers will travel down south over the next ten days, making stops at over 60 temples along the way in four different counties. Worshippers bow as they see the procession approach, and Mazu stops to give blessings to her followers. Mazu is worshipped by fishing communities and believers throughout Asia. Processions like this one have been held in Taiwan for over 200 years.    [FULL  STORY]