Photo credit: Neshan H. Naltchayan
It may be The Year of The Snake, but The Lion took center stage at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s annual celebration of Chinese New Year hosted by General Manager Adriaan Radder.
Designer Andre Wells
“The year of the black Snake begins on February 10th shortly after the New moon in Aquarius, the humanitarian of the zodiac.
This 2013 year of Snake is meant for steady progress and attention to detail. Focus and discipline will be necessary for you to achieve what you set out to create.
The Snake is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal Signs. It is the enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animals Signs. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.” HanBan.com
So what’s a Lion doing at a Snake party?
“The Lion Dance is a well known Chinese folk tradition and an important part of traditional kung fu school. It is an essential part of Chinese festivals, holidays and important functions such as weddings,business openings etc.
Often performed by gung fu schools at such events to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune, happiness and prosperity, that is if it is well performed.
Traditional lion dance performances also include the lighting of firecrackers to scare away the evil sprits. Although this is not very common in many western countries due to the legal issues, it is still done in many parts of south east Asia.” HungKuen.net
