One of the first lessons I remember in my Chinese class is the story of Mazu. Unlike in Western Culture, Chinese Gods and Goddesses are usually mortals who ascend to godly status after their death. Mazu is one such goddess, born in the 10th century on Meizhou Island, she dedicated her life to protecting the island's inhabitants. After dying while rescuing people from a shipwreck, she was celebrated as the Goddess of the Sea and can be seen both in temples and on boats to protect the sailors. 

One way Taiwanese people celebrate her is through the yearly Mazu pilgrimage in March-April. For up to nine days followers of Mazu transfer her in a palanquin from one temple to another. With curious onlookers and believers along her path worshiping her, playing instruments,lighting firecrackers, and dancing.

The most interesting part of this journey is that Mazu herself decides that path taken, meaning a new path could be taken each year! She can even decide to take stops inside convenience stores or school buildings. And if Mazu believes she has been led against her will, she'll cause her followers to circle back.

There are also multiple Mazu pilgrimages. The Dajia Mazu pilgrimage is one of the biggest religious events in the world and she travels from Jenn Lann Temple to Fengtian Temple.

The Baishatun Mazu pilgramage, while being less popular is the longest in all of Taiwan, 400-Km on foot! This pilgrimage starts in Gongtian Temple and ends at Chaotian Temple.

When entering a temple you will see various ways to worship the gods & goddesses inside and receive blessings. Some of these ways include

• Offerings of fruit, burning money, or flowers.

• Praying & speaking to the god/goddess while holding incense

• Letting the temple's inhabitants answer your questions by throwing down 擲筊 (Poe Divination). These represent Yin and Yang and depending on which side each lands on the god's are telling you if the outlook is good, bad, or if you should try again.

• Avoiding stepping on the threshold of doorways. While newer generations tend to ignore this rule, it's still a common tradition to avoid doing this in a temple, as it's disrespectful to the deities inside. Many of the doorways are raised or noticeable to make this easier!

• Entering and exiting through the right door. The entrance to a temple will commonly have three doorways. The center should never be entered by humans, as it's reserved for gods and goddesses. The door on the right side should be the dragon door, you should also enter from this one. And when exiting go through the door on the opposite side, which should be the dragon door for good fortune.

• Donating to the temple. There are various blessings you can get through donating to a temple. The most common one you'll see is 光明燈 (blessing lights), which refers to columns along the wall of temples filled with brightly lit boxes containing a small deity figure. You can donate to get your name on one of these boxes, which will bless you and bring you good luck.

• Grabbing a pencil. During exam seasons popular temples near schools may offer free pencils and pens for its patrons to take. It's believed that if you use this on your exams you'll get a good grade!

Soooo soooo many 光明燈 (but many of them don't have names yet)