Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple along Waterloo Street will be closed on Feb. 26 and March 9, 2021.

Those two days are the Lantern Festival (元宵节) and Open Treasury Day (开库借红包) respectively.

This year is the first time the temple is closed to believers during the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year.

The closure will prevent devotees from gathering to offer incense at the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

The Open Treasury Day, also referred to as the Borrow Angbao Day, falls on the 26th day after Chinese New Year, which is on March 9.

The practice is for temples to distribute red packets filled with coins to devotees.

These gifts symbolise the blessings "borrowed" from Guan Yin.

This occasion will be suspended for the second consecutive year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Devotees will be able to visit the temple on the following day when the temple re-opens.

The temple said it decided on this arrangement for the well-being of devotees.

The Waterloo Street temple closed at 6:30pm on Chinese New Year’s Eve this year for three days, and did not open until the morning of Feb. 15, which was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Thousands of believers returned on the day the temple re-opened.

Top photos via Google Maps & Flickr