If you’ve had a problem sticking to your New Year’s resolutions, here’s a chance to start over.
To some, it may feel a bit strange to celebrate the new year in February. For others, the celebration of the Lunar New Year is a time-honored tradition including food, incense, red envelopes full of “lucky” money and Lion Dances.
2005 is the year of the Rooster. Traditionallly, the rooster stands for honesty, hard work and the quest for knowledge.
This year, the Hong Kong Cafe, located on S. University Blvd, hosted a traditional Lion Dance to ring in the new year. The restaurant, owned by Lynn and Vincent Yip, has hosted the dance for the past few years.
In the Chinese tradition, the lion is a symbol of good fortune, as it scares away evil spirits.
Legend has it that a lion drove away a monster that was wreaking havoc on Chinese villages. This legend led to the lion being associated with protection and good fortune.
In order to ensure a good year, the festivities include dancers in lion costumes,accompanied by musicians playing the drum, gongs and cymbals.
The lion dancers symbolize generals from the Three Kingdoms period, 222-265 C.E. The Red Lion is called the “awakening lion.” This lion is dignified in manner,representing general Kwan Yu, who was skilled in the arts of both the sword and pen.
The Yellow Lion, called the “auspicious lion,” represents general Liu Pei. The auspicious lion has a sincere nature and is revered in the lion kingdom.
The Black Lion, which was not included in the performance at the Cafe, is known as the “daring lion.” This lion represents general Chang Fei, a man with a brave heart and passion for battle.
The two lions were brought to life by Kung Fu performers from the Tai Kung Ha Traditional Chinese Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy, run by Sifu Ha. Each lion contained two performers, one as the head and the other as the body.
The performers showed off their skill and grace, in addition to techniques used in Kung Fu, to perform a dance in the crowded restaurant.
During the dance, the lions stretched, fought, played and competed for a head of lettuce hung from a doorway. In other performances, the lions will eat, run, jump, tumble, play ball, and climb to reach red “lucky-money” envelopes hung from above.
Students of the Tai Kung Ha Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy have performed for several communities and area businesses in and around Denver, including the Tabor Center, the Denver Cherry Creek Center and the Buddha’s Light Temple. The Academy has also performed its Lion Dance at the University of Denver’s Festival of Nations, as well as at the International House.
In addition to performing lion dances, the Academy performs demonstrations of Kung Fu, Sparring, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Weapons forms.
