Mazu is rarely seen in the mainland, mainly in the southeastern coastal areas. She is a god of the sea. Fishermen and sailors all worship Mazu, just like Buddhists believe in Guanyin Bodhisattva.
There are roughly two types of sacrifices to Mazu, one is family sacrifices and the other is temple sacrifices.
For family worship, worship the gods at home or on a boat or worship the sea to pray for the safety of your family and smooth sailing.
For sacrifices in palaces and temples, there are daily rituals such as offering flowers, lighting incense, and lighting firecrackers. A grand ceremony is held at the temple fair:
① Priest: The host of the ancestral temple is the main priest, and Mazu spirits from various places are divided. The person in charge of the temple will accompany the sacrifice.
②Sacrificial utensils: candlesticks, incense burners, bells and drums, etc.
③Guards of honor: Qingdao flags, luanjia, antique weapons, etc.
④Sacrifice: Imitation of marine life and natural mountain scenery made of flour, mushrooms, fungus and other foods.
⑤ Sacrifice ceremony: Offer longevity wine, noodles, peaches, kneel three times and kowtow nine times.
⑥Sacrifice music: Lesheng uses 28 kinds of musical instruments such as suona, drums, chimes, harps, and flutes to play local tunes and tunes.
⑦Sacrifice dance: The dancers hold phoenix feathers and crotch pipes, and adopt traditional opera dance steps such as cloud steps and overlapping steps.
Temple fairs:
① Held every year on the 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar, Mazu’s birthday and the anniversary of her death on the 9th day of the ninth lunar month.
②Every household respectfully invites the Mazu statue to participate in the Lantern Festival activities.
③When Mazu temples are built in various places to separate the gods, they must hold the statue of the god to the ancestral temple to hold a "taking incense and ashes" ceremony.
④ Mazu’s Fenling Temple goes to the Meizhou Ancestral Temple at regular intervals to pay homage to the ancestors and offer incense, which is commonly known as “returning to one’s parents’ home”.
⑤The ancestral temple of Mazu is paraded in Meizhou Island and the Mazu branch temple to accept worship. The temple fair is accompanied by folk performances such as dragon dance, lion dance, brown sedan chair, knife sedan chair, and parasol dance.