Eight parts of the pilgrimage People used to refer to the Tachia Mazu Pilgrimage as "Mazu's return to her parents 'house," using the Chinese phrase describing the traditional visit that Chinese families make to the mother's family two days after the lunar new year. The Tachia Mazu ought to be returning to the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Fujian, on the mainland.
進香八部曲過去，民眾習慣稱大甲媽祖進香為「大甲媽祖回娘家」，因為原本應回大陸福建湄洲媽祖廟謁祖的大甲媽，在台海時空阻隔下，改到奉有媽祖「聖父母像」的雲林縣北港朝天宮遶境進香。