Superstitious locals are paying Chinese temples for online blessing ceremonies ahead of the Chinese New Year.

Footage shows devotees making merit at the Wat Mangkon Kamalawat in Bangkok, Thailand to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits in the coming year.

The faithful are also allowed to pay for blessing remotely through the temple's LINE account. The digital practice became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was implemented to prevent overcrowding at the temple.

Setthapong Jongsanguan, a local Chinese culture and religion scholar, said the Chinese have multiple belief systems including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and other folk beliefs that involve luck and the worship of nature, gods, spirits and ancestors.

He said: 'In the past, when a person's zodiac sign aligned with an 'incompatible' year, they used to feel uneasy and sought advice from spiritual teachers or fortune tellers.

'However, a new trend has emerged over the past 30 years, and people are now opting to pray at shrines or temples to exorcise bad luck on their own.'

The process of purging one's bad fortune is known in Thailand as 'kae chong'. Believers would write their name and birthdate on a piece of paper, which is then stored at a temple for one Chinese lunar year.

Morakod Rianthong, one of the developers of the online kae chong system, said that the majority of the users are temple followers from Thailand.

He said: 'Users can visit the website or Line account to simulate the experience of visiting the temple. They can fill in their name and date of birth, simulating the act of writing on paper, and make a donation to the temple via a QR code.'

When the payment has been confirmed, staff then take a photo of the piece of paper with the customer's personal information to be stored at the temple.

Locals also get a lucky phone wallpaper as a freebie.

Morakod said the online service has been well-received because of its convenience. He said: 'Traditionally, the temple is very busy during the festival, and the ritual requires a lot of concentration, which can be challenging in a crowded temple.

'With this systemn, users do not have to travel to the temple and can use do the ritual from anywhere and at any time, even on behalf of family members or relatives.'