00:01As the Lunar New Year holidays kick off, people in Taiwan flock to temples, seeking a good year ahead.
00:07There are many reasons to go, and many things to pray for.
00:11For some, it's about more than simple blessings.
00:14There's cash at stake, too.
00:22At exactly midnight on New Year's Day,
00:25worshippers rush past each other into central Taiwan's Fuxing Temple.
00:29They're racing to be the one to offer the gods the first incense stick of the year.
00:34In just seconds, we have a winner.
00:36And it's a comeback kid, too.
00:45He's won a commemorative plaque, plus about $300.
00:51But there are plenty of consolation prizes, too.
00:55The temple stuffed nearly 10,000 festive red envelopes with one U.S. dollar bills,
01:00each to go to visitors during the New Year season.
01:03Many temples handing out cash keep it simpler.
01:07Wuda Temple, also in central Taiwan, is typical, offering small coins or symbolic tokens meant as seeds,
01:14from which money is meant to grow through the year.
01:17Long lines form to get one.
01:19But here, too, there's a real chance at riches.
01:22Anyone might be a winner.
01:33But while there is a focus on cash and getting rich at this time of year,
01:37money's far from the only reason to visit a temple.
01:41People ask for divine protection and for things to go their way.
01:46And amid deep shifts in Taiwan society, there are signs it's no longer just about praying for human well-being.
01:53Ooh!
01:54Even in the weeks leading up to the holiday, pet owners have been gathering at this pet-exclusive temple
02:00to pray for their animal companions in the year ahead.
02:06Dogs and cats take part in human rituals, supposed to show what the gods say is in store.
02:11This temple only opened two months ago, but it's already busy, and its founders know why.
02:18Taiwan's mousetra is in the past few months.
02:20And many people here have been able to take care of the next generation's consent
02:26and take care of the children's house, and take care of their children.
02:30And I think the character of the temple's house is really about how to bear this love and consent.
02:38And there's a place that can make people feel like,
02:40wow, here, the living will take care of my children.
02:45Looking around at the people here,
02:47it seems the temple's hit on something real in the culture.
02:50There are no many requests, so I just want them to be healthy and healthy.
02:54The most important thing is to be healthy and healthy.
02:56They can meet us for a long time, so they don't have a lot of pain or pain.
03:05As the Lunar New Year season opens,
03:08there will be plenty of other chances to pray and seek a better year of the horse,
03:12and many will take advantage of them.
03:15Because, as an often-heard phrase in Taiwan goes,
03:18if you worship, you'll be protected.
03:20Dolphine Chen and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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