Happy (Chinese) New Year!!!!

This past weekend, I went to see the lion dances at the gates of Chinatown in Yokohama. Lion dances are believed to bring good luck and good fortune to businesses, and they are often performed to mark special occasions, such as Chinese New Years, weddings, etc. They can be performed by either a pair (one makes the front and one makes the back of the lion) or by a single dancer. The lions danced around to the beat of drums, gongs, cymbals, and firecrackers. The dances were very artful and acrobatic! Here are some pictures:

This is a picture of me trying on a smaller version of the lion costume. They had a small display of the lion dancing costumes.

Here is a picture of two costumes, a drum, and some golden lights. The lights are in the shape of the Chinese equivalent of a bar of gold. They are used to represent good fortune in the new year.

Well, hello there Mr. Lion! This is a close-up of the lion during one of the dances. He is a southern-style lion (he has large eyes and a mirror in the middle of his forehead). They also have northern-style lions that usually have a bow and shaggy fur.

The lion in action. I don't think I would want to be the back person; you have to dance around bent at the hips for most of the dance (which was about 10-15 minutes long).