Kung Hei Fat Choi
Saturday March 19, 2005 10:25 AM CST, location: UA896, altitude 35000 feet, 7700 miles from Hong Kong. 1 hour 30 minutes until touchdown.

Goodbye Montana, hello Colorado.

Kung Hei Fat Choi is the greeting of the Chinese New Year. It's a time of being with family, of celebrating life. It's also a time of tradition. One of these is a Lion Dance. I can't describe it better than those that perform it, so from the MIT Lion Dance Club:
"The lion dance is one of China's most distinctive cultural arts. The tradition dates back thousands of years. It is believed to have appeared in either the Tang, Han, or Ch'in dynasties, possibly in different forms. Other legends associated with lion dance include using the dance to chasing away the monster "Nian." Often performed by kung fu schools, it brings with it good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. The lion dance appears in western countries mainly during celebrations such as Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other multi-cultural events. It is also often seen at the opening of new shops, weddings, births, or where good fortune and prosperity is wished."

Flying Eagle Martial Arts
"There are several stories describing the origin of the Lion Dance. Whatever the origins, the Lion dance is an essential ceremony for the opening of new businesses, or even at traditional Chinese weddings. Lion dances can be very lengthy requiring excellent physical conditioning and stamina. Therefore, the dance troupe always belongs to a Chinese martial arts school. The lion is animated by two performers and the whole spectacle is accompanied by music, which matches the tempo of the lion's movements. The lion's mouth and eyes open and close and a beard hangs down from the lion's lower jaw - the longer the beard, the more venerable the school that performs the dance. At the opening of new businesses and restaurants, the lion is usually rewarded with a lettuce hanging on a string (there is always a gift of 'good luck' money attached to the "food"), which it must reach up and grab between its jaws."

Two Lions came to the office, accompanied by beating drums, to collect the lettuce and money offerings, and to bestow good fortune on the business for the coming year.

MIT Lion Dance Club
http://web.mit.edu/lion-dance/www/main.html

Hong Luck Kung Fu Club
http://www.hongluck.org/lion-dance-history.html

Flying Eagle Martial Arts
http://flyingeagleacademy.com/liondance.html

Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
http://www.chcp.org/lion.html
- posted by LyleDeck @ 10:25 AM