money for good luck. At Tzinan Temple in Nantou County, south Taiwan, tens of thousands of people took their turn praying to the Earth God before borrowing money.
The practice is believed to bring good luck and give a boost to business interests in the new year of the person asking for a loan from the temple.
The money is put in a red envelope called a "hong bao."
Each person can borrow a maximum of NT$600 (US$20) provided he or she registers by name, address and identity card number, and promises to return the money within a year.
On Sunday, staff at Tzinan Temple forked out NT$20 million (US$600,000) for the faithful, but did not appear worried that borrowers might not pay back the money.
"Some people fail to repay the borrowed money, but that does not bother us, because people whose businesses have flourished pay back more money than they borrowed," a temple staff member said on television.
A dozen Taiwan Buddhist and Taoist temples lend money to the faithful in the name of their respective gods on the first day of the Chinese New Year, but Tzinan Temple lends the biggest amount of cash.
Money lent by temples is called "seed money" for businesses. Even if one is not doing business, he or she can still borrow money from temples for good luck.
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