Miraculous! The Old Grandfather Temple shows its power—no rain at all during Keelung’s Water Lantern Festival

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Keelung

Yesterday (20th), the Ghost Festival parade in downtown Keelung was led by the procession of the Xie family, this year’s main officiating clan, along with 15 other clan associations parading through the city. At 11 p.m., the various clan groups proceeded to Wanghai Lane for the annual “Water Lantern Release.” Despite the typhoon, the usually rain-prone Keelung city saw no wind or rain whatsoever. Locals, glancing at the sky, remarked, “It’s thanks to the Old Grandfather Temple’s protection that Keelung had no wind or rain on Water Lantern Day.”


▲ The weather in Keelung city was clear and sunny on the night of the Water Lantern Festival.

Typhoon Trami had not yet made landfall the previous night, and scattered showers had already begun in the Taipei area. However, once crossing into Keelung, the city remained completely free of wind or rain. “I’ve seen this happen twice now—when there’s a typhoon on Water Lantern Day, only Keelung stays completely calm,” said a bus driver who commutes between Taipei and Keelung. On the night of the lantern release, Keelung only had one brief shower that lasted less than three minutes before stopping. The driver, who regularly drives the Taipei-Keelung route, noted that over the years, the skies over Keelung have almost always been clear on the night of the Water Lantern Festival.

“Seven or eight years ago, there was one time that left a deep impression on me. As I drove from Taipei into Keelung, the moment I entered the city, there was genuinely no wind or rain at all—it was as if the typhoon had been blocked outside,” the bus driver said bluntly. Many Keelung residents firmly believe that the miraculous weather on Water Lantern Day is due to the efficacy of the Old Grandfather Temple, which is dedicated to upholding justice for the “dear departed,” thus blessing the city that day. However, some remain skeptical of such supernatural claims, arguing that Keelung’s lack of wind or rain is purely due to the typhoon’s wind direction, with no direct connection to divine intervention.