March, which also coincides with the 3rd lunar month this year, seems to be when the minor gods must travel to major temples to be blessed.

We were lucky enough to catch several blessing rituals over the weekends, mainly to bless the minor gods, but which often had other purposes as well (the Chinese are a rather practical lot). None were for the benefit of tourists, though there are usually plenty of curious onlookers.

The first ritual we witnessed was dedicated to JiGong, a wine-drinking, meat-eating Buddhist monk who lived ... (more)