Welcoming the Chinese New Year

Monday, January 23, 2012

THE Dragon has landed at SM City Cagayan de Oro as the mall welcomed the celebration of the Chinese New Year on Monday with good fortune and prosperity.

Lion and dragon dances and grandiose Chinese cultural performances by students of different Chinese schools in the city were the center of Monday’s celebration, which has somehow transformed the mall into a little China Town.

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At noon, lion and dragon dancers swayed to the beating of the drums, cymbals and gongs as they welcome the Year of the Water Dragon.

The dancers visited every mall tenant as they performed the traditional custom of cai ching, which literally means “plucking the greens,” a quest by the lion to pluck the auspicious green vegetable (like lettuce which the Chinese called cai meaning fortune) and fruit (like orange) tied to a red envelope, either hang highly or just put on a table in front of the premises.

The lion dancers approached the green and red envelope like a curious cat, ate the green and spit it out, leaving it in a nice arrangement like “the auspicious character” but kept the red envelope.

The Chinese say the lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to business that is why every tenant of the mall waited for the lion to pass by.

The dragon reportedly represents wisdom, power and wealth, which is a very important aspect of the Chinese culture.

It is also said that the Dragon Dance performed on New Year's Day scares away the evil spirit and all the bad luck that goes with it.

Dragon dancers held the dragon up on poles, raising and lowering the dragon and made it "dance" as they also made their way to the crowd, to the sounds of horns, drums and gongs.

After the dragon and lion dances, a two-hour presentation of different Chinese cultures was also held at the SM atrium.

Mall-goers enjoyed the performances and were amazed as the students, clad in their colorful Chinese costumes, presented their piece in perfection.

Ivy Guantero, SM Cagayan de Oro public relations officer, said the Chinese New Year activity in the mall will continue with the dragon dances, Chinese delicacies and others that everyone believes will bring good luck.

“Our celebration will show how Chinese New Year is being celebrated at SM mall,” Guantero said.

Meanwhile, over at Limketkai Mall, the Chinese New Year was also celebrated with a Lion and Dragon Dance.

Going along with the celebration were a fashion show by students of Oro Grace Christian School who showcased their lovely and colorful Chinese attire and showed off their dance moves in a Chinese-Korean minority dance called “Arirang” while Dolly Estomo and Timothy Ching performed Chinese songs and students from Kong Hua School held a variety show.

A variety of Chinese food was also on display at the Chinese food bazaar.

For sports-minded individuals, they surely had a grand time watching the demonstration of Chinese martial arts called Wushu by the Wushu Federation Philippines Cagayan de Oro Chapter.