Yuan Thong Temple to Celebrate Spring Festival on Feb.16

Yuan Thong Temple, under the guidance of Master You Hui, will celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, on February 16, 2026, highlighting joyful and sacred new year atmosphere, promotion of the humanistic Buddhism culture, community participation and engagement and a space for spiritual reflection,

Immersed in reverence rather than the noisy spectacle, the celebration will center on the Humanistic Buddhist teaching of the Buddha’s light which is to dismiss darkness toward enlightenment and the promise of new beginnings.

The grounds will be adorned with soft but elegantly lighted lanterns, creating a serene atmosphere recreating the Temple into a sanctuary for contemplation, prayer, and inner peace during the new year.

As a spiritual and cultural hub in Bacolod City, Yuan Thong Temple aims to honor the blessing of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Monastic Order, whose message for the year is “Harmony and Co-Existence, Galloping Towards Success.”

The event will also highlight Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s teachings on the “Three Acts of Goodness” — doing good deeds, speaking good words, and thinking good thoughts — encouraging participants to begin the new year with compassion and positive intention.

A series of cultural, spiritual, and community activities has been scheduled throughout the celebration:

Festivities will begin at 3:00 p.m. with a food bazaar on the temple’s ground floor; at 6:00 p.m., devotees may participate in the lighting of candles, incense, and offerings at the main shrine, while a paper-cutting workshop will be held at the temple library from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Chinese calligraphy demonstrations will take place at the meditation hall starting at 7:00 p.m., followed by a cultural show featuring traditional performances from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The celebration will continue late into the evening with dragon and lion dances from 11:00 p.m. to 11:20 p.m., symbolically leading attendees to the main shrine; a prayer offering will follow from 11:30 p.m. to 11:40 p.m., culminating in the traditional New Year drum and bell ceremony at 11:45 p.m.

The celebration will conclude at midnight with the bell ceremony, also known as the wishing bell, marking the official welcome of the Lunar New Year.

Organizers said the celebration is open to the public, inviting people of all backgrounds to experience a meaningful and reflective observance of the Spring Festival.

Likewise, the gates of the Yuan Thong Temple will stand open even before February 16 and long after the festivities, embracing all who enter without distinction, Filipino or Chinese, Muslim or Christian, of every color and creed, and reminding us all that true prosperity begins with a renewed heart and a path illuminated by light.* (Gil Alfredo B. Severino)