Dragon Dance Origin
One day, The Dragon King’s was suffering from terrible back pain and it was more than he could endure.
In the dragon palace there was no medicine that could cure the back pain.
The Dragon King decided to disguise himself as an old man to seek medical help.
When the doctor felt the pulse of the old man he sensed something really strange and said: “You are not the human!”
The Dragon King’s look of dismay could not conceal the truth.
He told the doctor the truth and the reason for his visit.
Thereupon the doctor asked him to change into his true form. The doctor seized a centipede from the scales around the waist of the Dragon King.
After the poison had been extracted from the Dragon King‘s waist, the doctor applied ointment.
The Dragon King was restored to full health.
In order to thank the gracious Doctor for his treatment. The Dragon King said to the doctor that, “Good crops will come, so long as a dragon dance according to my appearance is played.
The story spread among the people, then every Spring the dragon dance was played to pray for rain to produce good crops.
I doubt that it’s true, but it’s a cool story behind a great tradition.:D I love tales, and this one’s new to me, so it’s a fun piece of information to know.
Happy Chinese New Year!