Many hoped for good health and stable work while they threw their ribbons at the Wishing Tree.

The festivities from Thursday to Sunday were a little different this year, with visitors required to wear masks, book online and numbers were restricted indoors.

Read more: State records 28-day COVID free milestone

It was a time for prayer, lighting incense and spending time with family.

Many wore the auspicious colour red, watched the lion dancing and partook in calligraphy, lantern, tea and fan-making workshops.

Thinga Tran from Bankstown travelled to the temple to celebrate the occasion after a difficult 2020.

"In our culture, it is tradition to go to a temple for the New Year," she said.

"We wish for good luck, it is the start of new beginnings and we get blessed from our master.

"We move on from a bad year and hope for a smooth good year that is blessed with health."

People tossed their red ribbons up into the wishing tree with hope that it would stick and their wish for good fortune would come true in the coming year.

Thihau Mg said she wished for a good year for her family and friends when throwing her ribbon.

Venerable Miaoyou said Chinese New Year was traditionally a time for Buddhists to pay their respects to Buddha; where they could say goodbye to the past year.

Venerable Miaoyou said Thursday night, New Year's Eve, was a time for Buddhist people to get together for dinner with their extended family, which was thankfully possible due to the easing of COVID restrictions recently.

She said the Wishing Tree was like a New Year resolution where people vowed to repent their wrongdoings of the past year and start fresh.

"The new year is a time to be mindful of your thoughts and actions and to remember that every action has a consequence," Venerable Miaoyou said.

"Lighting a light so symbolises wisdom and that you can see. If you see, you can be mindful of your thoughts."

Venerable Miaoyou said the Year of the Ox symbolised working hard, like a bull; fulfilling goals and being determined to reach those goals.

Venerable Miaoyou was also pleased the temple's new lift to access the main shrine had been finished before the festivities started as it made the temple more accessible.

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