The Thien Hau Temple. & is a

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' mi� ...

located in Los Angeles's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, dedicated to the ocean goddess

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

. It is one of the more popular areas for worship and tourism among Asian residents in the

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

. In addition to Mazu, the temple also venerates the martial deity of justice, Guan Sheng Di Jun (關聖帝君) and the wealth deity Fu De Zheng Shen (福德正神).

History

The temple is affiliated with the Camau Association of America, a local benevolent, cultural and religious association primarily serving the local Chinese–Vietnamese refugees from

Cà Mau province Cà Mau is a Provinces of Vietnam, province of Vietnam, named after Cà Mau, its capital city. It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, and is the southernmost of Vietnam's 63 provinces. It is bordered to the north by Kiên Giang p ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The group also supports

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

, and

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese people, Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a popul ...

communities. The original building of the temple was a former Italian Christian church located within what was formerly Little Italy, the building was purchased and remodeled by the Camau Association in the 1980s. The three main images of Mazu, Guan Yu, and Fu De were imported from Vietnam and dedicated in 1990. Under a strong faith-based community in and outside of Chinatown, the temple was able to raise a great deal of donated money with which to build a larger temple hall. Construction of the new temple was completed and dedicated in September 2005, a

memorial hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

for the enshrinement of ancestors was consecrated the following month.

Services

Thien Hau Temple is usually festive on the commemoration days of various deities, especially

. On the eve of Chinese New Year, members from various communities gather to receive blessings and to burn incense in worship of the Deities. Lion dance will be performed and firecrackers are popped in order to ward off any evil spirits. Representatives from over 25 family associations headquartered in Chinatown and other communities are present to light the firecrackers at the stroke of midnight. Since the temple is located within the heart of Chinatown, the temple is often seen as the local "Times Square" to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Many people come to the temple especially during the first week after New Year to receive a blessing for the year. On the concluding day of the New Year celebrations, people come to the temple to pray and beckon

for blessings and protection for the rest of the year. In recent years, a large number of non-Asian visitors have equaled the number of Asian visitors and congregants who assemble at the temple during the New Year celebration. On weekends and the 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar, food is provided to the general public for free (with the option to give a donation to the temple). The temple also holds a

Zhong Yuan Festival The Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism and the Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, is a traditional festival held in certain East and Southeast Asian countries. According to the Lunar calendar (a ...

ceremony in the summer. In 2020, all services for that year were cancelled for the first time in the temple's history due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The temple reopened to the public on a limited basis in early 2021 under new safety guidelines.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.thienhautemple.com/
Ten Ho TempleInside Thien Hau Temple during Chinese New Year
Chinatown, Los Angeles Chinese-American culture in Los Angeles Religious buildings and structures in Los Angeles Religious buildings and structures completed in 2005 Taoist temples in the United States Temples in California Mazu temples Thai-American culture in California Tourist attractions in Los Angeles Vietnamese-American culture in California