The fourth annual Turtle Prayer Festival was held Feb. 15 in the offshore Penghu Islands, with thousands of pious worshippers thanking the heavens and praying for divine blessings.
During the day, the public stood in long lines to toss divination blocks and receive one of the 10,000 mini turtle cakes that symbolize good luck.
A father and daughter from the Netherlands also joined in the festivities, delighted to receive the turtle cakes.
In the evening, 31 temples from throughout Penghu mobilized 34 electronic sedan chairs with folk gods in them. As the sedan chairs made their way through Magong, the largest city in Penghu, crowds of onlookers cheered and shouted.
Penghu County Magistrate Wang Qian-fa presided over the ceremony, presenting the heavens with a variety of symbolic gifts and asking for protection from harsh weather and for peace and prosperity for the residents of Penghu.
During previous Turtle Prayer festivals, there have been scattered incidents of fighting among the various temple sedan guards. To prevent this from happening again, police forces kept a stern and watchful eye over the participants, and the celebrations proceeded without a hitch.
