Thien Hau Temple (Los Angeles)
Thien Hau Temple is a Taoist and Buddhist temple in Los Angeles Chinatown. It is one of the more popular areas for worship and tourism. Thien Hau Temple is dedicated to Matsu, the Taoist goddess of the sea, along with Taoist gods Guan Yu and Fu De.
The temple is associated with the Camau Association of America, a local benevolent association primarily associated to the Chinese, Vietnamese and Teochew communities. The temple is also a supporter and benefactor of the Taiwan based Buddhist organization Fo Guang Shan.
The original building of the temple was originally a Christian church and was bought in the 1980s and transformed into a small Taoist temple. It gained in popularity and has been able to raise a great deal of donated money with which to build a larger and grander temple next door, which was completed in September 2005. They also dedicated a new ancestral memorial hall dedicated to the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha the following month.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, many members from various communities gathers to receive a blessing and to burn incense in worship of the deities. Lion dancers perform and firecrackers are popped in order to scare away an evil spirits. Representatives from over 25 family associations headquartered in Chinatown are present to light the firecrackers.
On regular days, such as the 1st and 15th day of the New Year, the ceremonial bell and drum are played and only vegetarian food is supposed to be consumed. People come to the temple especially during the first week after New Year to receive a blessing for the year. On the 15th day of the New Year people come to the temple to borrow money from Matsu and to pay back what they promised to her. (Generally, double the amount of money borrowed is paid back to the temple the next year.)
The temple also holds a Ghost Festival ceremony in the summer, where monks invited from Hsi Lai Temple are invited to chant sutras.