Dog Star re-posts this from the NY Post (here):
By CHRISTINA AMOROSO
Dragons are hot! And not just because they breathe fire. There’s that girl with the tattoo heating up the multiplexes. And now, here comes the Year of the Dragon. For New Yorkers, it means . . . twisting dragon dancers, the staccato explosions of firecrackers and traditional Chinese food. But the Year of the Dragon, which begins Monday, isn’t just any old Lunar New Year. The dragon is considered to be the luckiest symbol in the Chinese zodiac. “It’s hard to underestimate the prevalence and how important the dragon is in Chinese culture,” says Museum of Chinese in America assistant curator Ryan Wong. Aside from soaring above and beyond the other 11 signs, it’s the only animal in the zodiac that’s mythological in nature, and it’s even been attributed to several population explosions during the dragon years beginning in 1976. “[In 1976] you saw this spike in births in Taiwan and especially in Hong Kong and Singapore,” says Wong, who was born in the Year of the Dragon in 1988. “It shows how deeply attached the Chinese are to this symbol and the idea of the dragon.” With loads of events slated to mark the new year, including the firecracker ceremony on Monday, the parade on Jan. 29 is the biggest draw for New Yorkers. At the extravaganza, which begins at Canal and Mott streets at 11:30 a.m., parade-goers will be treated to lion and dragon dancers angling their bodies in serpent-like motions and martial artists performing death-defying tricks, while firecrackers pop and musicians bang away on drums. Each year, red-clad revelers line the sidewalks, cheering and waving flags as rainbow confetti rains down all around, while red paper laterns — adorned with Chinese symbols — hang in nearly every storefront lining the neighborhood’s crowded streets. But this time around, the festivities will be especially jovial, as celebrants wave goodbye to the meek Year of the Rabbit and welcome the dragon, long considered the fiercest, most powerful animal in the Chinese zodiac. Not only can we expect an increase in births, but ladies might want to start dropping hints to their fellas to put a ring on it. Due to the year’s 13 moons (thanks to the Chinese New Year being so early), there will be two spring seasons — prime time for getting hitched. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we also had a spike regarding weddings,” says Joanna C. Lee, co-author of the yearly Pocket Chinese Almanac. The guide is an oddly specific “do-this, not-that” guide for each day: For example, on Monday — Chinese New Year — one should avoid going to court, tailoring, starting a business, building an embankment and planting — better cancel those embankment plans! The mythical creature has already been on fire for some time now — you’d think the year of the dragon started in 2011. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” based on the best-selling Stieg Larsson series — has earned nearly $90 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The book trilogy has sold more than 18 million copies. And just last month, Swedish fashion retailer H&M released a 30-piece capsule collection of clothing inspired by “Dragon Tattoo” anti-heroine Lisbeth Salander. New York tattoo parlors are even seeing an uptick in fiery tats. “People request dragon tattoos during every Year of the Dragon,”
says Josh Lord, owner of tattoo parlors East Side Ink and Graceland Brooklyn. “I’m in the process of doing a dragon tattoo [right now].” But there’s more than just ink lore of the dragon, which has enjoyed a revered status in Chinese culture for thousands of years. The creature is illustrated everywhere from decorative objects to clothes to water vessels. It bears an appearance starkly different from typical Western depictions: It has a long, serpentine-like body and a collection of features resembling those of other animals — horns like a deer’s antlers, claws like a hawk, scales like a carp and eyes like a rabbit. “It’s like a super animal,” Museum of Chinese in America’s Wong says. “It’s more than the sum of its parts.” And aside from its symbolic significance of strength and power — the dragon also has metaphysical, heaven-like associations. “The dragon has a very strong imperial connotation because the dragon is often
referred to as the ruler of heaven,” Wong says. The dragon began to increase in popularity about 700 or so years ago, during the Yuan dynasty, when powerful, wealthy people of influence would wear clothing adorned with dragons. Its association with the emperor reached its apex later, during the Ming and Ching dynasties, when the emperor’s seat was referred to as the Dragon’s Throne.But in 2012, it’s time to celebrate tossing out the Year of the Rabbit and welcoming the dragon — whether it’s by eating lucky noodles (don’t cut them!), setting off some fireworks (a Chinese invention) or, perhaps, donning your own dragon outfit and heading to the parade next Sunday. Please don’t get a dragon tattoo, though — just see the movie. Chinese New Year celebrations go way beyond the Chinatown Lunar New Year parade (Jan. 29, 11:30 a.m. at Canal and Mott streets). From firecracker ceremonies to three-course dinners, there are plenty of ways to kick off the Year of the Dragon.
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