The Chinese Lion Dance: A Chinese New Year Tradition

u KIMBERLY H. BENDICION

One of the popular traditions practiced every Chinese New Year is the lion dance. It is a traditional dance performed on big occasions like the Chinese New Year, usually done for good luck.

The Lion dance is a very significant part of Chinese New Year. It is performed to drive out ghosts, evil spirits, and monsters like Nian—a beast that lived at the bottom of the sea and only came to shore on the last day of the Lunar New Year to eat people and livestock. Such creatures are afraid of noises like clashing cymbals. Every motion the lion makes has its own melodic cadence. The gongs and the cymbals follow the drummer, who in turn follows