Definition
It is meaning the "Purest Sacrifice celebrated for Great Peace".
Cheung Chau's Bun Festival, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year, is staged to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, in the Chinese calendar (this is usually in early May). It coincides with the local celebration of Buddha's Birthday. The festival formally begins on the 6th of the fourth lunar month and lasts for six days, whereas the highlight of the festival falls on the 8th.
Parade
The focus of the festival is the parade which has long been the key tourists' attraction. The spotlight of the parade is 'the float procession,' along which children aged between five and eight are carried shoulder high through narrow streets. Each child represents a household figure in Chinese history, romantic story, or mythology, and each is meticulously made up and dressed for his/her part. But the most striking thing is the way in which these small actors, posed above the heads of the crowd, appear to be performing impossible teats of balance, all under perfect control and apparently in complete comfort.
On the last main night of the festival - late on the day of the parade - there used to be a scramble for the buns on the three main towers. This was evidently a rough and ready affair. In 1977, Joyce Savidge wrote: "At exactly midnight, a gong sounds and all the young men who have taken
part in the festival rush forward and begin to climb the 60-foot towers. Some climb up inside the tower and burst through at the top – for it's the crowning bun and the banner on the top that will bring the best good fortune throughout the year. Without any thought for safety, the young men swarm all over the towers like bees over a honeycomb, collecting buns as fast as they can and stuffing them into pockets, baskets and sacks. It's usually all over within 10 minutes, leaving three sorry-looking frames of bamboo, tattered paper and rough string."
Given the bun towers are made of bamboo, and around 60 feet high, this would seem a dangerous practice. And in 1978, one of the towers collapsed during the race, resulting in over 100 people being injured - and the government banning the bun scramble. Bun Festival organisers have asked the government to allow the bun scramble to restart. But officials remained cautious - and instead opted to start a new scramble, up a specially built bun tower with a metal framework. Just 12 people were allowed to compete in the first race, in 2005, which was won by 23-year-old local fireman and bodybuilder, Kwok Ka-keung. All had to use safety harnesses.
Legends
One story of the origin of the festival is that in the 18th Century the island of Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague and infiltrated by until local fishermen brought an image of the god Pak Tai to the island. Paraded through the village lanes, the deity drove away evil spirits. Villagers also disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits.
