About birthday of Tin Hau
Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea and patron saint of fishermen, has a strong and loyal following in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s maritime heritage ensures that Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea and patron saint of fishermen, has a strong and loyal following here. On her birthday, locals flock to the more than 70 temples dedicated to her to pray for safety, security, fine weather and full fishing nets during the coming year. So enduring is the reverence for Tin Hau that this festival is even celebrated by many young people who are more likely to see a fish in a restaurant than on a trawler.

About Fa Pau
Fa Pau Raffle The raffling of fa pau depicting Tin Hau is an indispensible part of the Shap Pat Heung Tin Hau festivities. Villagers believe that whoever wins the fa pau gains good fortune and protection in the coming year. In olden times, the fa pau were attached to rockets and fired into the air. Young men from different villages would fight to get the biggest chunks. Today, it is a more sedate affair, with a raffle held to decide which village takes home the wreaths. Amongst them, the Ding Choy Pau is especially sought after as it is believed the winning village will be blessed with good fortune ('choy') and fertility ('ding’).

Fai Hay Tong is a Fa Pau tribute for a family by the surname Kong. They are a family of boat dwellers born on Po Toi Island who believe in Tin Hau, or the Goddess of the Sea. Every year, on the birthday of Tin Hau, they mobilize the family to gather and return to Po Toi Island to take part in the festivities for the birthday of Tin Hau.

2019 was the 30th anniversary of Fai Hay Tong. We accepted their invitation to design the visual of the 30th anniversary for them. We found that the birthday of Tin Hau, aside from being an activity related to faith, is also a way of belief in uniting the family. The 30 years represent the fruits of labor of four or five generations of people. It was hoped through the process of design that every family member would be celebrated for 30 years of faith.

We referred to the different forms of the statues of Tin Hau and took reference from the gesture of her hands. We designed a hand gesture that both represents the figure "30" and the "OK" sign as a way of conveying the belief in direct participation. We integrated both traditional and modern elements in the design and style to suit family members of different ages. The design of the gesture also became a symbol for the birthday of Tin Hau.