Devotees Queue At Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple At Waterloo Street To ‘Borrow’ Blessed Angbaos
On Thursday (16 Feb), hundreds of devotees queued up outside Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple at Waterloo Street to ‘borrow’ angbaos.
This practice is called Open Treasury Day and happens on the 26th day of the first lunar month every year.
The temple has previously made headlines for attracting crowds, and this time was no different.
Devotees queue up at Waterloo temple for angbaos from 3am
According to 8world News, some devotees were reportedly in the queue before 6am. Some elderly devotees even brought chairs so they could rest while waiting.
The first devotee in line told 8world News that he started waiting at around 3am. The previous time he was there, he was also the first person in the queue.
Source: 8world News
Another female devotee told the news outlet that she even brought her child along. The pair reached the temple at 5am, when the queue was not that long.
Apart from that, she also noted that the temple used to open at 4am.
Temple faced crowd control issues
8world News reported that the temple officially opened its doors at 6.40am. However, there was an issue of crowding and queue jumping.
Source: 8world News
One overly excited devotee ran to what he thought was the temple’s entrance. Unfortunately, this caused many other devotees to follow suit.
Thus, the temple had to deploy staff and security to control the crowd, and the situation improved after 7am.
Devotees can borrow blessed angbaos on Open Treasury Day
For those unaware, the practice of ‘borrowing’ angbaos is called Open Treasury Day.
Source: Facebook
Devotees believe that the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin Ma, opens her treasury to help the destitute. This happens yearly on the 26th day of the first lunar month.
The angbaos contain a small coin, and those who ‘borrow’ it from her will be blessed for the year.
However, those who borrow angbaos must return them next year if they wish to borrow another one.
Seeing the long queues and large crowds this year, it is truly an applaudable feat that the temple managed to maintain order.
Hopefully, every devotee who donated their time and energy received the blessings that they came for.
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Featured images adapted from 8world News and Facebook.Â
