Welcome the God of Wealth Celebration: 11pm 2/09 – 6am 2/10

Maitreya Buddha’s Birthday & New Year Bell Ringing Event: 8:30am –  6pm 2/10

The tradition of  God of Wealth Celebration: According to Chinese tradition, after midnight on New Year’s Eve, marking the arrival of the new year, various gods descend to the human world. As these gods reside in different heavenly directions, the directions from which they descend also vary. According to the ‘宪书 Xian Shu’ records, the God of Wealth comes from the east, the God of Fortune from the south, the God of Nobility from the northeast, the God of Happiness from the southwest, the God of the Current Year (Tai Sui) from the southwest.

Maitreya Buddha’s Birthday: Maitreya’s birthday is considered to be on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Maitreya is a very important characters in BUddhism, and Siddhartha Gautama Buddha was predicted that Maitreya would become the next Buddha, but at present, Maitreya is still a bodhisattva. Therefore, it is appropriate to refer him as either Maitreya Buddha or Maitreya Bodhisattva. In Mahayana Buddhism, Maitreya Bodhisattva is one of the eight great bodhisattvas. Also, Maitreya Bodhisattva is considered the originator of the Yogacara school.

New Year Bell Ringing Event：The master leads everyone in ringing the bell 108 times,  then the bell-ringing event will be open to the public, allowing each person to ring the bell twice. Ringing the bell in the New Year symbolizes the traditional custom of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. Striking the bell 108 times signifies the remove the 108 kinds of troubles in our life, also representing the beautiful wishes of people to be happy and healthy, and enjoy a long life of fortune and longevity in the new year.