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Chinese dragons at festivals
 The dragon is deeply ingrained in Chinese psychology, culture and
religious belief; the dragon has been part of the Chinese way of life
for as far as archeologists have found traces of culture within the
present-day border of the Democratic Republic of China. As opposed to
the European cultures where dragons we’re exclusively destructive and
evil creatures, in China the dragon has always been considered to be a
creature which possessed god-like power able to endow its followers with
courage, fertility, wisdom, and general good fortune. So it shouldn’t
come as a surprise that the dragon is of great importance in major
Chinese celebrations and festivals. For instance, one of the great
attractions of the Chinese New Year celebration is the wonderful Dragon
Dance. This ritual of the New Year’s celebrations dates back to the Han
dynasty in ancient China.
The Chinese New Year celebrations are meant to mark the beginning of the
planting season in China. The dragon has always been associated with
bodies of water and weather they’re in fact considered rulers of all
bodies of water large or small; considering that the dragon is also a
symbol of supreme good fortune, these elements are crucial for a
successful agricultural season.
This mythical dragon could take on various forms ranging from water
phenomenon to a humanoid creature with a dragon’s head, but in the
representations of dragons they always contain various bits and pieces
for the physical make-up of many animals. The Chinese dragon will have
horns like those of a stag and ears similar to those of a bull; the
dragon’s eyes will look like those of a hare and it will sport pairs of
tiger’s and eagle’s claws, the scales of a fish distributed along the
body of a long serpent. All of these combined traits we considered to
allow the dragon to walk the land, fly through the heavens, and swim
through the waters and these powers also give the dragon the authority
to rule the clouds and to control the rain.
 The success of the Dragon
Dance is dependent on the coordinated efforts of a team of dancers who
usually come from martial arts groups. The dragon itself is made up of a
large head mask and a long body which is held up with poles and
transported by the people inside it. The lead dancer, the one who’s
holding the dragon head has an extremely important job because it’s him
or her who makes the dragon twist, leap, crouch, and dip, imitating the
movements of a snake. The dragon mask is colored in red, green, or
gold which are the traditional colors used when illustrating Chinese
dragons. It is a beautiful and very complex design and sometimes the
head benefits from pyrotechnics that spew smoke. The color green
represents a great harvest, the yellow represents a steady empire while
the gold is there to represent prosperity, the red is there to
illustrate excitement, and the shimmering silver dragon's scales and
tail symbolize joy.
The number of body sections vary, sometimes using as many as twenty-five
sections divided by hoops of bamboo and this is more of an important
factor that one might think because the longer the dragon, the more good
fortune. As one might think such an elaborate costume is rather
difficult to manipulate and will require well-trained dancers in top
physical condition because the dragon is required to move in precise
patterns to the music provided by drums, cymbals, and a gong. The people
in the public will oftentimes throw firecrackers at the dragon's feet in
order to scare away any evil spirits and also to assure the dragon,
their ruler of water, weather and good luck is fully awake from its
hibernation and able to offer them the boon of its blessings.
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