Changhua County Government held the opening ceremony of Lukang Dragon Boat Festival – Dragon King Ceremony in the form of “poe divination” on March 2 at the Lukang Lungshan Temple. The wooden poes were thrown by Changhua County Government Deputy County Magistrate Lin Tian-Fu on behalf of County Magistrate Cho Po-Yuan; moreover, divinations were requested from Avalokiteśvara and the Holy God of the Dragon King, to decide on April 26 (Saturday) as the event day for “2014 Lukang Dragon Boat Festival – Dragon King Ceremony”.
According to Deputy County Magistrate Lin, the proverb “The heavens will not rain until the dragon lifts its head” symbolizes “Dragon raising its head will bring about bumper crop”. Therefore, in order to pray to the heavens for favorable weather and success of the dragon boat festival, February 2 on the Chinese lunar calendar (Dragon Lifts its Head) was chosen to seek divination from Avalokiteśvara and the Holy God of Dragon King by throwing poes to determine the auspicious date for holding the dragon boat festival launching ceremony. It is also hoped that the “Propitious day of the dragon lifting its head” will bring about safety and peace for every household in Changhua County. On behalf of Magistrate Cho, Deputy Magistrate Lin extended his invitation to everyone in the country to come to Changhua to “watch dragon boat festival and visit Lukang”.
The “Dragon King Ceremony” is the opening ceremony of the annual “Lukang Dragon Boat Festival”. Before the dragon boats are launched into the water during Dragon Boat Festival in May on the Chinese lunar calendar, a deity parade will be organized for the “Holy God of the Dragon King”, and the Shuexian Deity will also be invited to the venue of the dragon boat festival. This is a folk festival unique to Taiwan. In order to determine the date for this year’s Dragon King Ceremony, divinations were requested from Avalokiteśvara and the Holy God of Dragon King to decide on April 26 (Saturday) as the event day for “2014 Lukang Dragon Boat Festival – Dragon King Ceremony”. During the day of the event, the “Dagon Boat Eye Dotting, Launching and Blessing Prayer Ceremony” will be conducted together with a traditional artistic performance parade and industry museum tours to raise the curtain for the Lukang Dragon Boat Festival. Everyone is welcome to visit Changhua to appreciate the beauty of the county.