Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images: Chinese Dragon New Year Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images

Wednesday 9 April 2014

Chinese Dragon New Year Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images

Chinese Dragon New Year Biography

Source(google.com.pk)

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4712 begins on Jan. 31, 2014.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

A Charming New Year

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in horse years are cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with their hands. Rembrandt, Harrison Ford, Aretha Franklin, Chopin, Sandra Day O'Connor, and President Theodore Roosevelt were born in the year of the horse.

Fireworks and Family Feasts

At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

The Lantern Festival

In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. In the United States, however, many early Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of community through neighborhood associations instead. Today, many Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New Year events.

The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.

In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching bands and floats.

Snake - 蛇 - shé

Horse - 馬 / 马 - mǎ

Ram - 羊 - yáng

Monkey - 猴 - hóu

Chicken - 雞 / 鸡 - jī

Dog - 狗 - gǒu

Pig - 豬 / 猪 - zhū

Each of these signs begin on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2012, the Lunar New Year begins on January 23, and will be the Year of the Dragon, 龍年 (lóng nián) in Mandarin Chinese.

The order of the animals is often explained with a folk-tale about how the animals were summoned to heaven by the Jade Emperor (玉皇 - Yù Huáng). The dragon, as the only animal of the twelve that could fly, was expected to arrive first. But the dragon’s nature is to be helpful, and he stopped to help some villagers and then the rabbit, so he was the fifth animal to arrive for the Jade King's feast.

Dragon Characteristics

In Chinese culture, people born in the Year of the Dragon are thought to be lucky (幸運 / 幸运 - xìngyùn) and powerful (權力 / 权力 - quánlì). The dragon is a symbol of good fortune (好運 / 好运 - hǎoyùn) and authority (權威 / 权威 - quánwēi), so those whose sign is the dragon are afforded honor (榮耀 / 荣耀 - róngyào) and respect (尊重 - zūnzhòng).

For this reason, many parents plan to have a child during a dragon year. Consequently, there are more children born during the dragon years than any others. The larger number of children born during these years lead to increased competition for many things such as schooling and jobs, so some have come to believe it is not good luck to be born during the Year of the Dragon.

Some of the positive characteristics of Dragon people are:

innovative (創新 / 创新 - chuàngxīn)

enterprising (進取 / 进取 - jìnqǔ)

flexible (靈活 / 灵活 - línghuó)

self-assured (自信 - zìxìn)