Chinese New Year Party

Chinese New Year was February 9. Given Hawaii's location halfway to Asia, there is a significant Chinese population on the Big Island. And more of an Asian culture influence overall. Which is great with me because I love the philosophies, architecture, history and food of the Far East. Anyway, Chinese New Year is celebrated here with a giant block party. The main street along the bay with all the restaurants, bars and shops is blocked off and vendors set up booths with food and products they are selling along the street. Bands play at several locations also. To me the coolest atraction is the lion and dragon. A 100-foot long golden dragon parades through the street, winding through the crowd. Of course, it's numerous people undernearth the giant costume that bring it to life. There are also several lions that work their way through the crowd, blessing businesses and collecting donations through their mouth. It's good luck to give money on Chinese New Year. The idea is that during the next year the fortune will be repaid to you tenfold. My favorite part of the lion and dragon dance is the drumming. A cart follows the dancing creatures that has a couple drums and cymbals on it, and several people play this infectious driving beat.

The Chinese calendar is based on the moon. This Chinese year, which is 4073, is the Year of the Rooster. So anyone born in these years is a rooster: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005. The sign of the Rooster indicates a person who is hard-working and definite about their decisions. Roosters are not afraid to speak their minds and can therefore sometimes come across as boastful. They make good restaurant owners and world travellers.



Here we have a lady "feeding" the lion money.



This is a young girl playing the drums, following after the lion and setting the celebratory mood.



Here's the drum crew dragging the cart through the street.



And this is one of the guys in the lion gear. I guess he was looking ahead at the street to see where the other lions were, or he got hot, or something else.