Celebrations
Lion Dancing (Chinese)
Imagine
a huge puppet or costume so big that three or four people can fit inside,
all decorated with colourful tassels, sporting a huge, gaping jaw which claps
fiercely open and shut. That is the Chinese "lion" which is danced by martial arts
club members at Chinese New Year, Canada Day, and other propitious
occasions.
At
Chinese New Year in Vancouver, Victoria, and other communities around
British Columbia, several competing lions will parade along a street of Chinese
businesses, accompanied by drummers, cymbal-players, and appreciative
crowds. In front of shops with lettuce and "lucky money" suspended from
doorways, the lions stop and "eat" the lettuce - a very difficult feat if it is
suspended quite high.
The dancers have to be good jumpers and sometimes
one has to climb on another's shoulders to reach - all while continuing to make
the lion's head and body sway fiercely about.
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