Kung Hei Fat Choi! Chinese New Year is a celebration to welcome the Chinese calendar year that is highlighted with red envelopes, known as ang pow, fireworks and a wide belief of traditional practices. Not to mention the ever-famous Dragon Dance, which entertains both young and old with an epic performance by a group of people bringing the Chinese Dragon to life. Most of us think that the year 2012 would be the end of the world but, for the Chinese, the year 2012 is the year of the mighty Water Dragon that brings positive elements in the world of Feng Shui. Based from the Chinese principles, the combination of the water and the dragon is very powerful, for majority of the earth’s surface is made up of water and dragons symbolize power, strength, and good luck. So, I have a question, would the year 2012 bring bad fortune or would it surprise everyone with pleasant happenings?
This Pagoda is located at the left side of Taoist Temple and this is also a house of worship.
Chinese people left a prominent mark in the Philippine history. The love for porcelain wares, the amazing fireworks display in special occasions, the lumpia and pancit food that is always present during birthdays and other social functions, and traits of close family ties and hard work are just proof that Chinese was, and is still, very influential to the Filipino citizens. It is indeed expected that Chinese temples are found anywhere within the Philippine archipelago. One of the famous temple here in the country is Taoist Temple, which is located in the heart of Beverly Hills Subdivision, Cebu City. Since it is the only temple in the metropolis that is open for non-worshipers, my partner and I took the time to visit the temple on the day after the Chinese New Year celebration.
The Philippine Taoist Temple is a holy place of worship for the Chinese community in Cebu.
The temple has 2 entrances. We took the challenge to enter the temple by walking through the 81-step stairs. It was said that there are 81 steps, for there are 81 chapters in the Taoist book.
Once you are in the temple, you would get to see a lot of dragon sculptures, but the one that is in the picture above highlights the way of the other entrance of the temple.
Behind us is the gate going to Beverly Hills Subdivision but this gate is not an official entrance to the temple for the reason that it is not open for visitors. This gate is located at the uppermost area of the temple.
Chinese New Year here in Cebu may not be as colorful as the one in Mainland, China but Cebuanos respect and even practice some Chinese beliefs asking for guidance for a brighter future. It was indeed a very nice experience getting to know the traditional Chinese more. Aside from the Chinese culture that is embedded in our very own lifestyle, Chinese and Filipinos communities live harmoniously here in the Philippines. For the new year celebration, we make sure that we have new things to welcome the new year but for the Chinese, they just ensure that they position everything correctly to attract good fortune. For the year 2012, my partner and I just hope that good luck would come to us as we welcome the Year of the Water Dragon.
DebzTer @ Philippine Taoist Temple
Traveller's Dining Depot 