Welcome 2013: The Year of the Water Snake

Photo from Web

"Gong Xi Fa Cai" , "Gong Hei Fat Choi" (Wishing you a Prosperous New Year) , and "Xin Nian Kuai Le" (Happy New Year) filled the air this week as our Chinese friends celebrated their New Year.

 It has been said that this Chinese Festival is the most important of the traditional holidays and is also known as the the Spring Festival. So being  part of a Chinese community, we had our very own simple yet fun-filled celebration of the said event. One of which is the Dragon  and Lion Dancing.



Dragon Dancing

The dragon has important meaning in the Chinese culture.  It is said that a dragon is  a helpful and friendly creature who symbolizes courage, good luck, power, dignity, wisdom and long life, to name just a few of his many noble characteristics.  The Chinese dragon is an amphibious creature, that can swim through water, fly through the air or travel on land.

A dance dragon consists of three main parts:  the head or mask, a long body, and a tail.  The dragon is often seen chasing a pearl of wisdom.  This chase symbolizes the dragon’s search for wisdom and knowledge.  

Dragons come in all lengths, but a typical dance dragon is about 112 feet long and consists of about 9 dancers.  It is thought that the longer the dragon, the more luck he brings with him.  The dragon is accompanied by drums, cymbals and gongs.  Symbolically, the noise from these instruments helps to scare away evil spirits.  However, the drums play an important role in telling the dancers what movements to perform.  A dragon dance requires lots of skill and teamwork on the part of its members.

Lion Dancing

Another tradition which appears so well-known during the Chinese New Year is the Lion Dancing. This dance  also performs the duties of scaring away evil spirits and bringing prosperity and luck.  In addition, the lion is considered to be a protector or guardian.  You can always tell the difference between the lion and the dragon because the lion dance is performed by only 2 people.  These dancers are often masters of martial arts and perform difficult acrobatic skills.  

Dragon and lion dances are seen most commonly during New Year’s celebrations, however they can also be performed during other festivals, or during the opening of new businesses or community centers.

 Just this weekend we went out to our neighboring cities to perform Dragon and Lion Dancing as  caroling for the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Here's our fun-filled trip:


Day1 (Feb.09,2013) : Oroquieta City and Aloran

Our First Stop Over

Yu Linkon's Residence

 On our way to Oroquieta City

. . . and the show started.

Janine doing the drumming

Establishments in Oro. City and in Aloran

The scorching heat of the sun 

Ate Aida and Xianse blocking the road for our dancers ;)

 . . . made us all thirsty,

. . .hungry,

. . .haggard,

. . .with Francis, Janine, Xtian's baby bro, and Star

. . . and tired with skin burnt.

. . . but those were outnumbered by the FUN that we shared. ;)

 

Ate Aida in Maxine's Store ^^

Day 2 (Feb.10, 2013) : Tangub City
On our way

Teacher Cheryl, Ate Aida, and meeee :)

Al, Renzo, Ej, Jeremy, and Van

. . . our arrival in Sinanduloy Gym, Tangub City

  

 . . .and the ball started rolling

Al showing his exhibition.

After the presentation we hastily went out so we could go home early, but the photo session was never forgotten. ^^

Ate Aida and Ej

Christy and LaoShi PE

Ate Aida, Meeee, Christy, Ej, and Teacher Cheryl

. . .with Phillip and Ace

. . .with Ej

. . .a CANADIAN and a NEW YORKER during CHINESE New Year ^^