Standing Into Danger: Chinese New Year

Showing posts with label Chinese New Year. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2025

Bring on the Lions and the Year of the Snake!

I am delighted to be back at the Royal Kuhio again this year

and to have had the privilege of welcoming the Year of the Snake

with the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association on February 1st.

The lion dancers welcomed in the Chinese Lunar New Year

by performing a traditional lion dance for residents and visitors in the lobby.

Bring on the Lions!

Royal Kuhio

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 1, 2025

The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association

is a non-profit organization

formed in Honolulu in 2005.

All members are volunteers made up of

students and working professionals.

Website

Everyone should see a lion dance at least once in their lives.

Yes, it's visually exciting and throbs to the beating of drums,

the clashing of cymbals, and the singing of the gong.

But a lion dance is much more than vibrant sights and sounds.

It's a traditional Asian art form that dates back 5000 years to its origin in China. Source

Dancing Lions

Royal Kuhio

February 1, 2025

The lion dance tells a story and brings fortune and good luck to the audience.

Two people mimic the movements of a lion, one in the front and one in the back.

The dancer at the front leads the lion, setting the direction, pace, and footwork,

and the movements of the head, ears, and mouth.

The dancer at the back must follow the steps of the head dancer

and the beat of the music while bent over.

Lion dances are most popular during the Lunar New Year celebrations,

but they are also performed at community events, business openings, weddings, school festivals and other events. Source

Lions Delighting the Audience

Royal Kuhio

February 1, 2025

Anticipation grew as Royal Kuhio employees set the stage for the dance,

carefully suspending a Chinese cabbage in the entrance to the lobby.

The purpose of this curious act was revealed at the end of the dance.

A red packet or hong bao (Mandarin) or lai-see (Cantonese)

containing a gift of money was attached to the cabbage.

Other red packets were hung by the doors in the lobby area.

These packets are traditionally presented on many occasions in China

and other countries with sizable ethnic Chinese populations.

They symbolize good fortune and wealth.

They are also given to lion dance performers for their service. Source

People quickly filled the lobby area in anticipation of the dance,

and excitement and laughter increased as the members of the

The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association arrived.

Pono Ka'ahanui, the resident manager, has worked to increase cultural events at the Royal Kuhio.

I love to participate in his traditional hula class every Sunday.

Everyone enjoyed the dancing lions as they pranced around displaying their skills.

Accompanying the lion dancers were musicians playing the drum, cymbals, and the gong.

The drum represents the heartbeat of the lion,

and the cymbals and gong represent its thoughts.

The exciting music is loud and intense to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.

One of the Lions Collects a Red Packet

And Another Red Packet

There are two different styles of Chinese dancing lions: Southern and Northern.

The more acrobatic Northern Dance features martial arts moves, kicks, leaps and climbing,

and the lions have a shaggier, more realistic appearance.

The Southern Dance mimics lion behavior

with lots of blinking, licking, scratching, and shaking.

The lions have oversized, stylized, dragon-like heads

and the lead dancers can manipulate their mouth, eyes, and ears.

The colors of the lions represent different qualities:

red for courage, green for friendship, and yellow for liveliness.

Northern Lion Dance

Flickr ~ Choo Yut Sing ~ License

Southern Lion Dance

One of the great things about the lion dance performance in the Royal Kuhio

is that everyone could be close to the lions and see their movements easily.

A Parting Shot

And that Chinese cabbage?

It's a famous lion dance routine known as choi chang or getting the greens.

A head of lettuce containing a red packet with money

is hung high in a doorway or outside a building.

The lion carefully approaches the suspended lettuce, often performing a difficult feat

such as the front dancer standing on the shoulders of the back one.

The lion grabs the lettuce, eats it, and spits it out spreading good luck and prosperity. Source

People often take a piece for good fortune and luck during the coming year. Source

You know I got a piece of lettuce!

All too soon the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association members were packing up,

moving on to another celebration of the Year of the Snake.

The departure of this magical cultural group left quiet in its wake.

Back in our condo, I wrapped my cabbage piece carefully and tucked it in my purse

next to my father-in-law's St. Christopher's Medal (the patron saint of travelers).

With luck and good fortune, I'll be back to the Royal Kuhio next year

to see the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association welcome the Year of the Horse!

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

See you next time! Aloha! ❤️🌺🍀

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, February14th. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Enter the Lions!

On February 11th, I was one of the residents and visitors

at the Royal Kuhio who enjoyed a special treat.

We celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Dragon

with the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association.

The lion dancers welcomed in the Chinese New Year

by performing a traditional lion dance for us in the lobby.

Enter the Lions!

at the Royal Kuhio

Honolulu, Oʻahu⁩, ⁨ ⁨Hawaiʻi⁩, ⁨United States⁩

February 11, 2024

The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association

is a non-profit organization

formed in Honolulu in 2005.

All members are volunteers made up of

students and working professionals.

Website

I absolutely love lion dances: the colorful prance of the lions,

the continuous beat of the drum, the loud clash of the cymbals,

and the high-pitched voice of the gong.

I was not disappointed with this up close performance!

Drum and Cymbals

at the Royal Kuhio

February 11, 2024

The anticipation and excitement in the lobby built as the dancers arrived,

donned their costumes, and formed up to enter the Royal Kuhio lobby.

The Dancers and Musicians Arrive

Just when the lion dance originated is not certain,

but it dates back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

The performers of the lion dance mimic the movements of a lion.

The dancer at the front leads the lion, setting the direction, pace, and footwork.

He also controls the head, ears, and mouth movements

as well as the blinking of the lion's eyes.

The dancer in the tail must follow the steps of the head dancer

and the beat of the music while bent over.

Members of the Wah Gnai Lion Dance Association

Forming Up to Enter

Accompany the lion dances are musicians playing the drum, cymbals, and the gong.

The drum represents the heartbeat of the lion,

and the cymbals and gong represent its thoughts.

The music is loud and intense to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.

Musicians

Dancers

The lion dance is an important tradition in the Chinese community.

It brings happiness, good luck, and drives evil spirits away

on special occasions like the new year.

Chinese kung fu schools and organizations demonstrate

their strength and character through the lion dance.

Greeting the Audience

There are two different kinds of lions in the lion dance: southern and northern.

This dance featured southern lions. The color of the lion is significant too.

Red lions symbolize courage, golden lions liveliness, and green lions friendship.

Wah Gnai Lion Dance Association Members

Selfie

Bringing Happiness

At lion dances you may see people "feeding" the lions

with red envelopes or folded money.

These donations are supposed to bring good luck

and thank the performers doing the dance.

I couldn't resist feeding both lions.

Good luck and Thank You!

Next year I'll have the traditional red and gold envelopes which are a symbol of good luck.

I don't have any Chinese ancestors in my background,

but red has always been my favorite color.

In Chinese culture it represents with energy, happiness and good luck, so me!

Energy, Happiness and Good Luck!

The Two Lions

The energy, stamina, and athleticism of the dancers is amazing,

and I don't envy the tail dancer who is bent over and nearly blind most of the time!

Lion and Front Dancer

At first in all the excitement, movement and music,

I couldn't see the differences between the two lions, but different they were.

Mouth One

Mouth Two

Thank You for the Donation!

As the dance wound down, the lions and others gathered for a group shot.

A Parting Shot

As the lions were exiting, I suddenly saw one lion biting the top of the lobby door.

What on earth?

Biting at the Top of the Door

(and a shoe in the middle ???)

People familiar with the traditions of the dance knew what was happening,

but I was perplexed.

Then I realized that the head dancer was sitting on the shoulders of the tail dancer

and that the lion was trying to bite off a cabbage suspended above the door.

A Big Stretch

Biting the Cabbage

Got it!

A few moments later, after "eating" the cabbage,

the lion started spitting it out on the floor!

Eating and Spitting

Spitting

I learned that spitting out the cabbage represents

spreading wealth, prosperity, and good luck.

Eating and Spitting Done

A member of the audience picked up a green piece of cabbage.

She told me, if I collected a piece of the green cabbage and saved it,

I would have good luck throughout the year.

I need all the luck I can get, so I picked up a nice green piece.

Then the lions were shedding their skins

and the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association departing.

A truly magic experience was over.

Exit the Lions!

All Rights Reserve

Back in our condo, I carefully wrapped the good luck cabbage piece in Saran wrap.

Then I tucked it into my purse next to my father-in-law's St. Christopher's Medal,

which I always carry because St. Christopher is the Patron Saint of Travelers.

With all this good luck surrounding me,

I'll make it back to the Royal Kuhio next year.

It is a great place to stay!

A Taste of the Magic

Lion Dance | Happy Chinese New Year 2023

Edinburgh St James Quarter

You Tube

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date,

Nicole's Friday Face Off, and Tom's Aloha Friday.

For Rain's TADD: Theme ~ Lips: The Lips of the Lions.

For Nicoles's Friday Face Off: The Faces of the Lions

For Tom's Aloha Friday:

This afternoon I met a junior high school friend Kathy for lunch,

and then we visited the beautiful Lyon Arboretum at the back of the Mānoa Valley.

Kathy and Me

Lyon Arboretum

Honolulu, Oʻahu⁩, Hawai'i, USA

February 15, 2024

Lyon Arboretum

Lyon Arboretum is part of the University of Hawaiʻi and is a public botanical garden.

https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lyon/

https://www.hawaiiactivities.com/travelguide/lyon-arboretum/

Have a great weekend! 🌺 Aloha!!! 🌺

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be soon! 🤞

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

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Friday, February 7, 2025

Bring on the Lions and the Year of the Snake!

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Enter the Lions!

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