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In this issue of i-Free Life, we will celebrate the festive season by introducing you to traditional Chinese New Year's customs and popular itineraries in villages in the New Territories. And we are going to show you ways to experience the simple life in rural villages.
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City dwellers often talk about the loss of Hong Kong's traditions, but if you take a look at the rural villages in the New Territories, you will see Lunar New Year customs are still very much alive. Read on to discover how different villages celebrate the coming of spring.
 The Tai Wong Temple in Wong Uk Tsuen, Yuen Long, is normally closed. But, from the 11 th to the 17 th day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, it will open its doors for the Lantern Lighting Ceremony. There are three ceremonies held every day, featuring lantern lighting and incense burning. During this time, villagers share barbecued pork and offer rice wine to gods and ancestors in traditional rituals.  In Chinese, the pronunciation of the words for "lantern lighting" sounds like the phrase "birth of male offspring." Both are considered auspicious, so during the Lunar New Year, the ancestral halls of Pat Heung, Yuen Long, will host a special pair of rituals – a lantern lighting ceremony, and a feast for male offspring. In the first ritual, villagers will light lanterns for male offspring and hang the lanterns on the beams of ancestral halls. They will also offer lanterns on which greetings are written as well as incenses to their ancestors for blessing. And on the 15 th day of the first month, families will gather at ancestral halls and treat their fellow villagers to a "feast for male offspring" – an important ritual that allows their sons to officially possess
inheritance rights.  Legend has it that the famous "casserole banquet" was born in an attempt to keep soldiers happy. Villagers layered their simple rural dishes in casseroles, making the food look nice and taste more delicious. It worked. Since then, the casserole banquet has become a festive custom. In the village of Tsang Tai Uk, over 100 banquet tables of guests will be greeted by lion dance on Lunar New Year. Also, families who have moved away will return to the village to partake in ancestor rituals and cozy gatherings.  Photography enthusiasts flock to the villages in the New Territories, looking to capture rural vistas, architecture, and a traditional lifestyle that cannot be found in urban areas. Here are two popular itineraries that promise a first hand experience of the rustic, idyllic living that these villages offer. Don't forget your camera! Route 1：The Folklore and Tradition of the New Territories West
| Yuen Long Ping Shan Heritage Trail (Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, Tang Ancestral Hall, Sheung Cheung Wai, Kun Ting Study hall, Hung Shing Temple) → Yuen Long Kau Hui (Street of Ching Dynasty, Chun Yuen Ngat) → Kam Tin, Yuen Long (Kat Hing Wai) | |
Route 2：The Folklore and Tradition of the New Territories North
| Sheung Shui (Liu Man Shek Tong) → Fan Ling (Fan Ling Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail) → Tai Po (King Law Ka Shuk, Tai Po Wun Yiu, Fan Sin Temple, Yuen Chau Tsai) → Sha Tin (Tsang Tai Uk) |
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