The Year of the Dragon!

Today was the Chinese New Year celebration in London’s Chinatown and Trafalgar Square! 2012 is the year of the Dragon, so all the babies born this year will be very lucky. Being a Sheep myself I admit to having Dragon envy. The ceremony started with official greetings from the likes of the Mayor of London and the President of Chinatown. After the formalities they performed the “dotting of the eye” ceremony in order to “bring the dragon to life.” Then there was a performance of two acrobats holding up a huge lion puppet, jumping around on posts raised way off the ground as a prelude to the dance with the vast golden dragon puppet. In fact there was such an intense dragon theme, and it was all so cool, that I couldn't help but wonder what on earth they do when it's the year of the Rabbit, for instance.

Then it was time for a walk around Chinatown. Everything was decked out in red lanterns. It looked absolutely beautiful. Soon we began to hear drumming noises and all of the sudden Zoe, Samira, and I were swept up in a huge crowd. We found that there was a lion puppet going from door to door of all the restaurants and shops along the streets of Chinatown. It would dance around, growl, and pace at the door and then a shopkeeper would come out and bow to it and give it some lettuce, which it would gobble up and fling everywhere. Then, appeased, it would move to the next shop demanding more lettuce. When I went home I researched this behavior and found that it was a part of the traditional Chinese New Year "Lion Dance" called "Picking the Green" as defined on this website: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/lion_dance.htm

After enjoying some delicious moon cakes outside a Korean pastry shop we made our way back to Trafalgar Square for the closing festivities. We managed to force our way through the crowd and stopped by one of the fountains with a fairly clear view of the stage and the large screen on the right side. There were a lot of performances in quick succession and then the speakers started pounding out epic instrumental music with thunderous percussive beats! A red pillar topped with a man waving a flag rose into the air, a moving graphic of a dragon was projected onto the column, and flame throwers started shooting off from the canopy of the stage. It all culminated with an impressive display of fireworks. 

I know that America greatly enjoys holidays. We take holidays from other countries and make them our own, we have heavily commercialized holidays such as Christmas and Easter, and everyone knows we love fireworks. And yet I don't know if I've ever seen a holiday as grand or well organized as this in America... at least not as a public event. Granted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is pretty up-there, but with this there was something incredibly precious about it to go along with the extravagance. There was such an attention detail alongside the fanfare and bling, and it had the feeling of being so much older and steeped in tradition than many of our own holidays. You really got the sense that everyone took great pride and enjoyment in the celebration. 

What an odd and wonderful experience, exploring a different culture within another different culture! I can't wait to see what other hidden chapters this city has to offer!