Bilingual text here: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026812W05EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description
雙語文字版: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026812W05EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description

Our official website: ➔ https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/

Follow us on
Facebook: ➔ https://www.facebook.com/ftvformosanews
X (Twitter): ➔ https://x.com/FTV_Taiwan_News
A temple in Keelung has been forced to make changes to a traditional Ghost Month ceremony due to Taiwan’s military exercises. This Thursday is the first day of the Seventh Month of the Chinese calendar, which this year coincides with the urban resilience drills in Northern Taiwan. Every year, the Laoda Gong Temple attracts large crowds of worshippers to attend a ceremony leading up to the opening of its shrine doors at 2 p.m. But since the military drills will require everyone to clear the streets starting at 2:30, the temple will, for the first time, hold the ceremony 10 minutes earlier. Let’s hear more.

Hsu Kuo-chun
Keelung Laoda Gong Temple
The air raid drill is scheduled to last from 2:30 to 3:00 in the afternoon. Our ritual requires that the shrine door be opened before 2:00. So, we’ll start the worship ceremony 10 minutes earlier. The whole event will start at 1:25 so that the door can be opened before 2:00.

Cheng Ting-ching
Keelung Culture Official
After the ceremony is over, people will still have 20 to 25 minutes to clear the venue. If they don’t make it out in time, they’ll have to wait the drill out, sheltering at the temple.

In Taiwan, the start of the Ghost Month marks the opening of the gates of hell, allowing wandering spirits to roam the human realm for a month. At the Laoda Gong temple, the annual shrine-opening ceremony represents the symbolic opening of the gates, receiving the spirits with offerings of incense. The ceremony has been held without fail every year, even during typhoons, so this year’s early start marks an unprecedented change.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#ghostmonth #ghost #taiwan #temple #religion #keelung #culture #religion


#台灣新聞 #TaiwanNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan