[First published April 22, 2015] Ross returned to China last month just in time for Dragon Head Raising Day. This is not a statutory holiday, but a traditional festival day that marks the arrival of spring showers and planting season. Dragons in the East are friendlier creatures than the Western dragons that St. George slayed and dwarfs and hobbits fought. In fact, the dragon is credited with bringing rain for the crops.
I was told that hairdressers raise their prices on this day because it's at traditional day to get a haircut, especially children. And good for them, say I. Supply and demand.
Although it's obviously good for the hairdressers to wield their scissors, I read that women are not supposed to do any mending at this time, because their needles might poke the eye of the dragon. Imagine then, my surprise and alarm when I turned around in the hotel room and saw this...
I was told that hairdressers raise their prices on this day because it's at traditional day to get a haircut, especially children. And good for them, say I. Supply and demand.
Although it's obviously good for the hairdressers to wield their scissors, I read that women are not supposed to do any mending at this time, because their needles might poke the eye of the dragon. Imagine then, my surprise and alarm when I turned around in the hotel room and saw this...
I hadn't briefed Ross on the Do's and Don'ts of Dragon Head Raising Festival. Ross doesn't do lot of mending (nor do I) so what are the odds he'd do it in the one day when it is supposedly injurious to the dragons?
Apart from doing the one thing that we weren't supposed to do, we didn't observe Dragon Head Raising day in any special way. We had a nice reunion weekend in Beijing, the sky was actually blue, the weather was warm, and we enjoyed ourselves with some ex-pat friends.
China's cities -- or at least the ones that I've seen -- are lavishly planted with trees and flowering shrubs, so springtime is an especially nice time of year.
Apart from doing the one thing that we weren't supposed to do, we didn't observe Dragon Head Raising day in any special way. We had a nice reunion weekend in Beijing, the sky was actually blue, the weather was warm, and we enjoyed ourselves with some ex-pat friends.
China's cities -- or at least the ones that I've seen -- are lavishly planted with trees and flowering shrubs, so springtime is an especially nice time of year.
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