Welcoming & Lion Dance
The lion dance originated in India or China. The lion is traditionally regarded as a guardian creature. It is featured in Buddhist lore, being the mount of Manjusri. There are different variations of the lion dance in other Asian cultures including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, with each region possessing their own styles.
Why do people perform the Lion Dance?
Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who lived in a forest. On one moonlit Mid-Autumn night, he saw a big lion playing with the moonlight by the forest stream. The lion jumped into the stream to catch the reflection of the moon in the water, but whenever it did so, the moon disappeared. This made the lion so angry he flew into a rage and stormed into a nearby village.
Hearing the villagers’ call for help, the woodcutter chopped off a tree branch to make a club. After much effort, he defeated the lion. The villagers admired the woodsman’s strength and asked him to re-stage his struggle with the lion. Since then, villagers have held lion dances at their annual Mid-Autumn Festivals. Two persons in the role of a brave woodcutter and a strong lion challenge each other in martial arts style, portraying the great fight in which the woodcutter saved the village.
(Source: Wikipedia and www.waytovietnam.com)