Curmudgeons and Dragons

When is a Chinese dragon not a Chinese dragon?
When it's a Chinese lion, of course!

(BTW, apologies to gamers led to believe by the post title this was about a new version of 'Dungeons'...)

Today's novella length topic = Dragons / Lions. Specifically, those that appear in Chinese New Year parades.

The lunar new year is still 6 months away, yet I feel the need at this time to address those who fail to make the distinction between these dragons and lions. Why? In the past, it's always bothered me (surface the curmudgeon) when folks mistakenly say Chinese Dragons are Lions and Chinese Lions are Dragons. It happens. So, kindly indulge me...

(1) Although lions are not native to China, both Northern and Southern Chinese have their stylized versions of the animal in art, costume and dance.
(2) Dragons are mythological (or so they say...) creatures that loom large in Chinese legend. Dragons also feature prominently in the names of Chinese restaurants, if you haven't already noticed.
(3) Both Dragons and Lions 'dance' during Chinese New Year festivities. However, they come across very differently. Do not confuse the two!
(4) In appearance, CNY parade dragons are certainly attractive - elaborately designed dragon head, lengthy fabric body, colorful, ornate. A parade dragon is supported 'fore' by an individual who holds up the head by way of a long pole, followed by a large number of people who support the 'aft' (body) by holding shorter poles attached to the underside of the billowing length of canopy. Dragon's dance is a meandering zigzag snaking movement along city streets. Nice, but no big whoop.
(5) Parade lions, on the other hand, have enormous, decorated heads with movable parts. Lion heads are typically bedecked with soft round pom poms and rimmed with fur/fringe that shake and shudder with every movement. Lions have large, frightening bulbous eyes that sport wildly batting eyelashes. A big flapping mouth. Twitching ears. Maneuvered by two athletic individuals (typically trained in martial arts), the massive lion head is held up by one person while the second person attends to animating the short length of trailing cloth body. A steady, mesmerizing drumbeat accompanies the dance. With coordinated effort, the Lion Dancers step lively with a series of distinctive prances, postures, stretches, jumps and bows. A full-length lion dance involves precise moves that reflect a traditional story line.

OK, OK. so my preference for (Southern) lions (pictured in the link are Northern lions) prejudices me to wax less poetic about dragons, even risks my sounding disrespectful to the venerable dragon. (An aside: why is 'venerable' so often used when speaking of Asian-y things anyway? Like 'inscrutable'. Ah well, those terms may someday be addressed in a future Curmudgeon posting...).

Bottom line, I think parade dragons are over-rated. In terms of heart-pumping excitement, the sedate dragon just doesn't compare to the party-hearty lion. I feel dragons get way too much of the limelight, when the lions are clearly so more more awesome.

The Parade-style Lions/Dances are such a spectacle! As a child, I found the prancing dancing lions wildly exciting as well as pretty damned frightening. Definitely a Love/Hate response. Never quite got over it. As an adult, I eagerly look forward to watching a Lion Dance, yet the little kid in me still experiences a wee bit of a freak-out.
Perhaps it's the main reason 'CNY Lions' fascinate me so. I'm still working through the trauma...

P.S. In the next Curmudgeon post: "Don't call it 'Frisco'"...