Nan Hua Begins New Year Festivities with a Bang

The New Year’s Eve celebration signifies the launch of a series of New Year’s celebrations that aim to promote traditional Chinese culture and racial diversity for all South Africans. Well over 1000 people arrived at the Temple on 31^st December 2008 from around the country to take part in the New Year’s Eve festivity.

The celebration set forth a pilgrimage tour to every shrine in the temple where everyone offered either a candle or incense with their prayers. The highlight of the tour was the all-new exhibition by Venerable Jue-Kai which focuses predominantly on the Chinese New Year, and apart from highlighting significant cultural aspects, it also shows and explains the various components making up the aspects of this significant cultural celebration. The feedback has been phenomenal especially from the local tourists.

After supper, Venerable Hui-Xing, temple manager, and youth members from the Nan Hua Young Adult Division (YAD) demonstrated and involved everyone in the musical gesture of Manjushri Bodhisattva which consists of the chanting of his popular mantra (om?ah?ra?pa?tza?na?dhi) and synchronized aerobic movements.

An hour before midnight everyone assembled at the Main Temple for the new year’s eve prayer. Venerable Hui Fang, Abbot of Nan Hua Temple, says “During this year, we have tasted the bitter as well as sweet in life and have experienced the warmth as well as the coldness of human emotion. Through the Buddha’s teaching, we have learned not to be discouraged and to reach the end of the year safely; Through His blessing, we have developed the courage to face reality and to overcome dangers and difficulties.” The Abbot added that from this day on we shall extinguish the fires of anger with tenderness and still the winds of ignorance with Truth; we shall also dam the torrents of greed with joyous giving and level the mountains of arrogance with humility.

Immediately after the prayer, all the participants made their way to the Main Temple Courtyard to get ready for the countdown and the release of the traditional Chinese lantern. According to Venerable Yi-Chun, elder to Nan Hua Temple, the lantern has had a long tradition in Chinese culture and was first used by the famous Chinese military strategist Zhugeliang (AD 220-280) to inform the alliance on military intelligence. The early Chinese immigrants to Taiwan also used lanterns to inform their family in China that they have arrived on the island safely. Thousands of the same lanterns were also released at the Opening of the Beijing Olympics to mark the beginning of the game.

Venerable Yi-Chun encouraged everyone to be a human lantern and bring light, peace and hope to families, friends and communities in the new year. At exactly midnight, 500 lanterns were released into the boundless African sky accompanied by a magnificent fireworks display which resembled a galaxy of stars containing wishes and prayers.