Posted by Patrick Fox on October 17, 1997 at 01:07:28:
In Reply to: Re: The Dragon Festival? posted by Terence McManus on October 15, 1997 at 10:10:31:
I became quite interested in this and have been trawling the web for
references for the last hour! It seems that dragons originally were
used in rain dances, and if a single festival was dedicated to
dragons it looks as though its purpose would be to encourage rain.
This comes from the Encyclopaedia Britannica online:
lung
Pinyin LONG (Chinese: "dragon"), in Chinese mythology, a
type of majestic beast that dwells in rivers, lakes, and oceans
and roams the skies. Originally a rain divinity, the Chinese
dragon, unlike its malevolent European counterpart (see
dragon), is associated with heavenly beneficence and fecundity.
Rain rituals as early as the 6th century BC involved a dragon
image animated by a procession of dancers; similar dances are
still practiced in traditional Chinese communities to secure good
fortune.
However, I get the impression that the dragon dance has now come to
feature in almost any Chinese festival, and its origins have been lost.
See CHCP for an excellent picture and some basic info.
There are other pages with at least some info on the background
of the Dragon Dance both here and here.
Hope you find that as interesting as I did!
Cheers
Patrick.