I came into work a normal Monday morning with a list of things to do. My secretary came by and said, "The Lion Dancers are coming by today from 2:30 to 4, but don't worry I ordered you the lettuce." "Oh, great, thank you," I said back having absolutely no clue what she meant.
"You have some red packets on you right?" she asks. I actually do have a small stash for Chinese new year emergencies. (Please refer to older posts.) Yet have no idea why I need them.
The morning went on quietly, clearly many associates were excited about this. The about 11 or so, a series of building workmen started hanging heads of lettuce in all the offices and certain cubicles. Slowly they worked around the floor till they got to my space. I am in the middle of moving cubicles and rearranging the layout. This caused a LARGE set of worry and concern. Where should they hang the lettuce? In the current space or the new space? After some discussion, my secretary chose the new space, since that is where you will spend 2011. I didn't have the heart to mention that my boss said don't get too comfortable as the Bank is restacking the floor and we will probably move. Oh well, I hope luck travels.
Then the red packets come into play. You need 2 to hang with the head of lettuce.
I should stop and give some very important facts about all this care of my new internet site for Chinese Wo Jing Martial Arts and I qoute,
"The legend says "Nian" (pronounced Neen) who was a fierce monster, especially liked kidnapping children. He terrorized villages year after year. Finally, one year, a lion defeated and chased the monster away. “Nian” vowed to return next year. This time the villagers did not have a lion to protect themselves. So, they solved the problem by creating a costume likeness of a lion and two villagers used it to scare “Nian” away. This is the reason the lion dance is performed every Chinese New Year.
The legend also says that loud noises from the drum, other instruments, and firecrackers helped scare the “Nian” away. Red is worn during the New Years celebration because it was also believed that the “Nian“, was afraid of the colour red. The word "Nian," thought the yearly ceremony, has become the Chinese word for year."
As much as the Lion embodies all these forces and powers, the Lion is still a wild animal and must be tamed, disciplined and dedicated to help man utilize the yang element (cycle of life mentioned before). One method to achieve this was to find a way to communicate with the spirit world and to influence the workings of these forces of nature for one's benefit.
To achieve this, the Lion must be “awakened” in a ceremony. By this ceremony, the Gods and the Deities are asked to look favourably to grant and bestow spiritual life to the Lion. The Lion is now called hsing-shih (pronounced Sing See) or “awakened Lion”. The Lion now becomes, neither God nor Deity, but agent assigned by Heaven to bestow blessings of wealth and happiness to the community and to dispel evil forces and pestilence.
Other elements of the Lion dance include paying respects via bows to the audience, leading party, deity location (Sun Wei) or location of prosperity (i.e. Cash register, doorway to a business). When more than one Lion appears, elements include playing (i.e. tail chases), fighting (i.e. head bites), grooming, scratching and horseplay.
The Lion will then proceed to the eating element. Lettuce is usually used, and when eaten symbolizes the appeasement of the Lion and, in turn, the Lion will bestow good fortune to the provider. When the Lion spits out the Lettuce, it represents “Fat Choi” (as in Gung Hey Fat Choy), or spreading the greens, spreading the prosperity. Sometimes, the Lion will also be fed scrolls with lucky sayings when lettuce is inappropriate." End Quote
To achieve this, the Lion must be “awakened” in a ceremony. By this ceremony, the Gods and the Deities are asked to look favourably to grant and bestow spiritual life to the Lion. The Lion is now called hsing-shih (pronounced Sing See) or “awakened Lion”. The Lion now becomes, neither God nor Deity, but agent assigned by Heaven to bestow blessings of wealth and happiness to the community and to dispel evil forces and pestilence.
Other elements of the Lion dance include paying respects via bows to the audience, leading party, deity location (Sun Wei) or location of prosperity (i.e. Cash register, doorway to a business). When more than one Lion appears, elements include playing (i.e. tail chases), fighting (i.e. head bites), grooming, scratching and horseplay.
The Lion will then proceed to the eating element. Lettuce is usually used, and when eaten symbolizes the appeasement of the Lion and, in turn, the Lion will bestow good fortune to the provider. When the Lion spits out the Lettuce, it represents “Fat Choi” (as in Gung Hey Fat Choy), or spreading the greens, spreading the prosperity. Sometimes, the Lion will also be fed scrolls with lucky sayings when lettuce is inappropriate." End Quote
So you can see this is serious stuff and I have only been here 3 weeks! The actual ceremony starts in the lobby with a very ornate dragon dance and multiple lions dancing in front of the building executive staff. This lasted about an hour. Then the loins proceeded to each floor, that funded this, for the individual ceremonies.
I started to get very anxious. Then they arrived on 42: one lion, a drum and several cymbal players. Greta they are starting on the other side of the floor. I decided to watch and try and get some on the job training. Once they made it to my boss, my secretary noticed my concern and said, "don't worry I will help you." Thank God for the lifeline.
So the lettuce is hanging above your desk, you put out several red packets of money around it to "attract" the lion over. So imagine, there you are: you and the Lion dancers backed up by the loudest drums and cymbals you have heard. In between you is the hanging lettuce. The Lion did a stylized dance then jumped up and ate the lettuce. OK, pay attention, this is the really important part. The Lion tears up the head of lettuce ad then spits some back out at you and all over the office space. You are supposed to catch some to lock in your luck and prosperity for the year.
I caught some. International incident averted. The Lion takes a picture with you and the ceremony ends. Congratulations from the locals on a job well done. Some actually leave pieces of lettuce around there work space through the year sprinkled across their trading screens.
I cannot capture the essence of Hong Kong better than this. This American blond haired guy of Russian and Slovak ancestry welcomed into a very Chinese ceremony because while so many things are different, Hong Kong is at the core a city and a people bound together by commerce, business and free market and wrapped tight with a strong commitment to tradition and family. Hong Kong if you look close enough is like the ceremony modern yet mystical, serious yet fun, foreign yet very familiar.
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