A little while back, Jeremy and I did the whole Chinese New Year thing by heading out to Chinatown to take in the annual Lion Dance.
Long ago, the Lion Dance would be performed in front of shops and homes by local kungfu groups who would do these dances for money. Residents and shop owners would hang green food like lettuce from their front door along with a red envelope full of money. The Lion would then chew the lettuce (pocketing the money, of course!) and spit it out to see what sort of auspicious shape it would take. Then a blessing for the new year would be bestowed.
Today, the tradition varies from community to community. In Sydney's Chinatown, the lions did their dance, a "monk" bestowed a blessing on the shop owners, and the group lit off fire crackers hanging from the shop front to ward off evil spirits.
I don't know about evil spirits but a couple of firecracker explosions were enough to make me leave! I had a hard time hearing for the rest of the day!
Happy New Year!
2 comments:
Those are some fantastic photos, Kortney. WOW!
Good pics, Kortney! I don't think your spirit is in anyway evil, so you've nothing to worry about nor do the Chinese dragons! ;)
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