The Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year....2010 the year of the TIGER! On a last minute decision, I decided to head out to our local Chinese restaurant to join in a Dragon Dance. I have never been before so I decided Dawson is the excuse to go now. I also drug Papa and Grammy with us! Not sure if they wanted to go but, they were good sports! I started the day telling Dawson we were going to see a Dragon Dance. Silly me...her response...I'm scared! Quick thinking on my part...I found a book at school showing that the dragon really is a big puppet. We quickly read the book and things were cleared up and she was then ready to go! WHEW......She keeps me on my toes!

After we were seated, we were quickly giving red envelopes. You are supposed to fill them with money and feed them to the dragon for good luck. HMMMM...wish I would have thought of this idea.

In China, the children and single people are given the red envelopes with money for good luck! Every person at the table feeds the dragon! Even Dawson did it but, it was kind of a toss into the mouth..the dragon was much bigger and wilder than I ever thought he would be...

As we waited, the balloon man stopped by. Of course, Dawson asked for something pink.

Here's an up close picture of the dragon and the hand that comes out to collect those red envelopes!

Waiting to feed the dragon....She was a little nervous but, I was surprised how much she really got into it as the night went on!

The dragon goes to every table in the restaurant while the music continues and continues and continues. It's a lot of drums and tambourines.

At the end of the ceremony the children gather around the dragon. He puts an orange in his mouth and tosses it up into the air. The child that gets the orange will have a very lucky year ahead. He did this a few times and then stuck the cabbage in his mouth. He chewed it up and then spit it at the kids. This is supposed to bring luck too! YUCK. With all the luck in the restaurant, I should have a wonderful Chinese New Year ahead of me! It was a really neat cultural experience! I'm already looking forward to next year!