The annual celebration honors General Humin, a guardian god of Chinese Fujian people, with a parade, lion dance and traditional folk music.
Lion dancers lead the 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade down 10th
Street toward the center of Chinatown on Sunday.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
General Humin was a scholar and a fighter who was deeply empathetic and philanthropic whose contributions to the Chinese Fujian people have been remembered annually so many years after his death.
Sunday was no exception in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. There, a parade, lion dance and opera show were among the festivities commemorating the 1189th birthday of Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.
The city’s first Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival to celebrate Humin was held in 2009, inspired by new Chinese immigrants from Hoyu Township of Fujian and sponsored by the Philadelphia Hoyu Chinese American Association. It has been held every year since, popular with locals and tourists.
According to historical accounts, Humin assisted the King of Min in building the Fuzhou city, including opening ports, attracting investments, and building schools. After his death, the society lapsed into chaos and corruption.
Hoping to be blessed and protected by him, the Fujian people build temples to worship Humin, triggering an annual tradition of honoring him that has lasted more than 1,000 years.
Jian Wu, center, gets some help from Chew Guo, in the back, putting his clear plastic raincoat over his elaborate costume prior to the parade from the Hoyu Folk Culture Center to the middle of Chinatown on Sunday March 31, 2019, as part of the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival and Parade that commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
One of the many gods that are part of the Hoyu Folk Culture Parade emerges from the Hoyu Folk Culture Center to take his place in among the other gods that will walk to the center of Chinatown on Sunday March 31, 2019, as part of the festival that commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
As the rain comes down in Center City, a participant in the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade stands under the railroad bridge on Wood Street in the hopes of keeping his incense lit, as the parade makes its way to the middle of Chinatown on March 31, 2019. The parade and festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
As the rain comes down hard in Center City some of the gods in the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade wait under the railroad bridge on Wood Street in order to stay dry until the parade was able to continue on to the middle of Chinatown on March 31, 2019. The parade and festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Lion dancers lead the 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade down 10th street toward the center of Chinatown on March 31, 2019. The parade and festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
As the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade makes its way down Race Street in the pouring rain, on March 31, 2019, one of the participants tries to keep the water off the bunring incense that is an offering to the gods that protects the Fujian people from misfortune. The 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival and Parade commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
As the 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade makes its way down 10th Street in Chinatown, a loud burst of firecrackers frightens some of the children that were watching the colorful pageantry on March 31, 2019.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
One of the participants in the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade who was wearing one large costumes representing one of the gods, looks out of his peep hole to see the crowds on the sidewalk on 10th Street that had gathered to watch the pageantry of the parade, on March 31, 2019.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
After the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade, workers hurry to secure the large god costumes to their platforms so celebrants can place incense in front of them as an offerings for protection and prosperity for the coming year, on March 31, 2019. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Participants in the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival work to secure one of the many gods, that were in the parade, in front of the food offerings that were placed on tables in front of them as offerings for protection and prosperity for the coming year, on March 31, 2019. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Celebrants at the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival in Chinatown, light their bundles of incense in order to place them as offerings to the gods for protection and prosperity in the coming year. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Celebrants of the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival place incense before the assembled gods as an offering for protection and prosperity in the coming year. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
On March 31, 2019, a celebrant at the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival places her burning incense into the pot in front of the gods that have been placed in front of food offerings that are hoped to bring prosperity and protection in the coming year. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Celebrants at the Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival, on March 31, 2019, burn pieces of paper that symbolize money, as an offering to the gods for protection and prosperity in the coming year. The festival commemorates the 1189th birthday of General Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
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