Welcome the Dragon
To the editor:
The New Year has started. As with any holiday, the lead-up is marked by a tremendous buildup of people wanting to go everywhere and do everything. After the event, the disengagement is more languid as thoughts turn back to the fray of work.
For the Chinese it is no different. The last three days before the New Year Celebrations began, all the transportation services were swamped. Now, nearly a week later, those same services are only just beginning to fill up. By late Sunday afternoon as I write this, I expect that the crowds will be surging back into the city.
One marker of the end of the holiday season is the Dragon dancers. Tradition dictates that you welcome the dragon to increase your luck, similar in process to the blessing of the fields and tools of the farm that mark so many of the towns back home. After a bleak winter landscape, the brilliant yellows, reds, and greens are a welcome reprieve from gray and dull.
A small troop of drummers and cymbalists provide the rhythm for the moment. The drums are about the size of a decent potato barrel, maybe a bit squatter. Painted red and crowned with a very white skin, the lead drummer strikes away in a pattern that goes back centuries and is designed to get the heart pumping.
Next come the dragons. The troupe going around our building this morning has five dragons and a prince. The dragons are two-man teams. Front team is the head of the dragon. He has the flashing eyelids, open mouth, and wiggly eyebrows that mark the animal. He is also the one who seeks out treasures and treats from the various businesses. Back team is the back of the dragon. He helps raise the front up high and swings around to swish away the past. Undulating like waves on the pond, the body of the dragon whips back and forth, up and down to the beat and rhythm of the drums and cymbals. The tempo changes and the actions get faster. If the dragon is pleased with the offering then he bows and frolics in front of the crowd. Unhappy, he may charge into the crowd. I’ve never seen an unhappy dragon.
The dragons’ court is made up of well wishers with many of them holding up staffs of golden tubes and red twirl-abouts. Noisy, riotous, and fun. This is the dragon dance. Businesses through out the city are having small dragon dances outside the doorways. The openings are covered with large sheets wrapping the entrance like a present. Soon the dragon takes a claw and tears away the wrapping.
It’s a new day and a new business. Good luck with a great new year!
Orpheus Allison
Guangzhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
