Deities and Faith
Why did Sheng Zhen Men add a blessing ceremony on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month that year?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
We added it because some had missed the ninth-day first-month jiegai rite, while others still felt difficulties at midyear and hoped to pray to the Jade Emperor again. Responding to those needs, we chose the sixth day of the sixth month to offer another opportunity.
One folk account says the Jade Emperor ascended the throne on the seventh day and opens heaven's gates on the sixth, allowing written prayers to be submitted. I also explained it through reaching halfway through the year: after an unsatisfactory first half, one can pause, pray for an auspicious second half, and begin again. This was the religious and customary background for that date then.
We had also made individual arrangements for people who missed the year's beginning. But in my faith understanding, choosing a suitable day and bringing everyone's strength together in prayer offers different support from acting alone. The additional ceremony hoped to use that season to request removal of misfortune and blessings from the Jade Emperor.