Celebration and Festival 慶典節日
Tin Hau Festival
The Tin Hau Festival parade was held on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month. Each paper floral tribute (fa pau) association will bring the newly made paper floral tributes to Tin Hau Temple the day before the parade to bless and thank the kindness of Tin Hau.
The dragon and lion dance teams from each village flower firecrackers (fa pau) association will start from Kai Tei in Yuen Long and proceed to the Yuen Long Stadium through Kau Yuk Road. Then returned to the Tin Hau Temple at Tai Shue Ha to pay their respects to Tin Hau.
In the afternoon, they conducted a “paper floral tribute draw” at the temple to obtain Tin Hau’s blessing.“The third paper floral tribute ” means prosperity and wealth" which is the most popular among the villagers.
十八鄉天后誕
元朗十八鄉天后寶誕巡游自1963年起，於每年農曆三月廿三日舉行。在舉行前一天（農曆三月廿二日），各花炮會把新做好的花炮運送到大樹下天后古廟擺放。同時會誦讀祝文，以酬謝天后神恩。
正日，各村落花炮會的龍獅隊伍以元朗雞地為出發地點，途徑教育路，到元朗大球場進行匯演。最後回到大樹下天后古廟參拜，並於下午進行「抽炮」活動，以獲得天后的祝福。
「抽炮」共三炮，寓意祝福村落來年的發展，其中最受村民歡迎的第三炮寓意「丁財兩旺」。
Dancing Lion 醒獅
Dragon Dance at Tin Hau Temple
天后古廟舞龍盛況
Spring and Autumn Ancestral Worship of Clans
宗族春秋二祭
Spring and Autumn Ancestral Worship of Clans is one of the traditional rituals in the Hong Kong clan. Clansmen in Hong Kong come together at their respective ancestral halls to perform worship ceremonies to their forefathers, or visit their ancestors’ graves up on the hills to observe filial piety and pay tribute to their ancestors during vernal and (or) autumnal equinoxes, (fourth and the ninth lunar months). For example, the Ping Shan Tangs will first put up sticking huichun (spring scrolls) and then enter the ancestral hall at 12 p.m. to pay respects to their ancestors. And then distribute pork and money according to the number of participants.
春秋二祭是香港宗族成員每逢春分及（或）秋分（在農曆四月或九月），聚集祠堂祭祀列祖或前往山頭拜祭先祖墓地的儀式。新界宗族十分重視祭祖活動，以屏山鄧氏宗族為例，每年春分和秋分，鄧族人首先會貼揮春（春聯），然後在正午十二時進入宗祠祭祖，祭祖後按照參加人數分豬肉和派錢。
Distribute pork
分豬肉
To Tei Festival in Ha Wan Tsuen
下灣村土地誕
Ha Wan Tsuen is not an indigenous village but a multi-surnamed village of more than 90 years. The original land god is not the stone sculptures of the To Tei Kung and To Tei Por that are currently worshipping, but rather two ordinary stones. According to Mr. Kwok (the village head of Ha Wan Tsuen), the sculptures of the To Tei Kung and To Tei Por were placed under the banyan tree to represent the centre of the village and unite the villagers. Villagers commonly worship the To Tei Kung and To Tei Por on traditional festivals, such as Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, but only on the 20th day of the first lunar month is the day of worship for the whole village.
The To Tei festival is held on the 20th day of the first lunar month. Villagers gather before noon to worship the land god. The offerings include roast pigs, chickens, fruits, incense, candles, and spirit money. There is also a “Paper Floral Tribute (Fa Pau) scrambling” during the festival, which used to have seven Fa Pau but is now decreased to three. In the past, villagers used to shoot the Fa Pau by lighting them on fire, but for legal reasons, the event was cancelled and replaced by slingshots. Traditionally, the Fa Pau were made of paper and tied by hand, but due to the near loss of the craft and funding, they have been replaced by wooden Fa Pau, which can be used many times. Villagers are given red pockets when they grab a Fa Pau and can take the wooden Fa Pau home or place it in the village for worship.
下灣村并非原居民村落，而是一個多姓村，村落歷史可以追溯到九十多年前。原本的土地神并非目前拜祭的土地公和土地婆石像，而只是兩塊普通石頭。據下灣村村長郭海賢先生所述，土地神石像擺放在村落大榕樹下面，象徵村落的中心點，用以凝聚村民。每逢新年，中秋等節日皆會有村民拜祭土地神，但只有正月二十日土地誕是全村拜祭的大日子。
土地誕於每年農曆正月二十日舉行，村民會在中午十二時前陸續來到榕樹下聚集和參拜。祭品通常有燒豬、雞、水果、拜祭的香燭紙錢等。土地誕設有「搶花炮」活動，從前是有七個花炮，現在減至三個。村民以前搶花炮會透過燃點把花炮發射出去，但是由於法律原因取消，改為以彈弓發射花炮。傳統的花炮是人手紙紮，但因手藝近乎失傳以及經費問題改成木製花炮，方便多次使用。村民搶到花炮會有紅包分發，以及可以選擇把木製花炮帶回家中或擺放在村內讓村民供奉。
Worshipping the To Tei
拜祭土地神
