WISHING TREE

I saw a wishing tree when I was driving out of TESCO Ipoh this morning. My mum and I had gone there to have lunch and do some shopping. Knowing me, I quickly stopped the car by the roadside to take photographs. Before that I interviewed the man whom I saw doing some digging near the tree. He told me that he was clearing the place to place a shrine for the Taoist deity Tai Pak Kong (大伯公). I was also told that this wishing tree or spirit tree as it is sometimes called grants the wishes of the people who successfully manage to throw an orange tied with a red string or a length of red cloth on to one of the branches of the tree. Before throwing, joss and other offerings must be made to the deity first.

There are two very famous wishing trees located at Lam Tsuen village in Hong Kong. The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees (林村許願樹) are very popular shrines. They are located near the Tin Hau Temple in Lam Tsuen. The two are banyan trees. The Chinese New Year is the time when most tourists visit Lam Tsuen. The tourists would burn joss sticks, then write their wishes on joss paper tied to an orange ("bao die"), then throw them up to hang on the branches of these trees. It was believed that if the paper successfully hung onto one of the tree branches, their wishes will come true. Up close you will notice that the Wishing Tree is actually laden with wishes written on bright red paper. There are two Wishing Trees, but the one near the road, also called the Spirit Tree, is much more famous. In the old days, people say that the bigger Wishing Tree is for wishes about academic results, health and things which are related to our life, while the one beside the Tin Hou emple is for wishes concerning marriage and children. But over the years, such a rule is forgotten, and most people simply worship the bigger tree because it is easier to hang the “bao die” onto it.
From one of the websites that I visited I found out that the Spirit Tree used to be a camphor tree where a tablet for enshrining and worshipping Tai Pak Kung (大伯公) was placed. As time went on, the branches and leaves began to wither and eventually it became a hollow tree. Legend has it that once there was a worshipper who had a son who was very slow in learning. As a result of the wish he made after worshipping the hollow tree, his son completely changed and made incredible improvements in his academic performance. Word spread and people flocked to this Tree to make wishes. The Tree is said to be quite generous with its magic. Today, it not only attracts people from all around Hong Kong, but it is also popular with foreign visitors. Chinese people are superstitious. They believe that there are deities who could bless them. The deities would also help them to achieve their wishes. As one of the means to worship the deities, they write their wishes and throw them onto the Wishing Tree. How do people make their wishes in Lam Tsuen? First, you must buy a “bao die”; inside the package, you will find a large piece of yellow paper. On the right, there are several lines of space, where you can write your name or names on. Then you write down your wishes and wrap it up from the bottom to the top. Finally, tie the yellow paper to an orange and try your luck in getting your “bao die” to hand on one of the branches. Since the design of it makes it go only vertically upwards or downwards, so people should go right under the branch they want the “bao die” to hang on. Some people also say that it is better to throw the “bao die” not more than three times. Those who cannot hang the “bao die” on the tree, are said to have made their wishes too greedy.