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[tikistitch]

This UFO catcher set looks like they're dressed up for Chinese New Year.



BTW, Stitch appears to be wincing because Chinese Dragon Puppet is chomping on his head!

Comments

[twotone]

Judging from Angel's attire, I think this may be a Japanese New Year set. Of course, Japanese New Year festivities are pretty close to Chinese New Year, just held on January 1st onwards instead of the Lunar New Year. :p I believe it's traditional for the shishi (lion-y monster) to go house to house, biting kids on the head for good luck.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

So that's a LION, not a dragon? See, when I was in Singapore, we saw some guys in a parade in what we thought was a dragon-like costume, doing a dance. One of the young bystanders insisted it was a actually a lion. We thought he was funnin' us, but maybe it *was* a lion!

[twotone]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_dance

I'm not sure about Singapore, but in Japan, there's a tendency to reuse names for mythical creatures when naming actual creatures. So "shishi" is an old name for lions, but it's also the name for the mythical creature portrayed in the "shishimai" Lion Dance as well as Komainu statues. Likewise, "kirin" is both a legendary unicorn-like creature AND the common name for the giraffe.

According to wikipedia, the main difference between the Dragon Dance and the Lion Dance is that the Dragon Dance has 10 or so people (because a dragon has a sinuous body, I guess) and the Lion Dance is two-man (in Japan, it's one guy operating the head, and another guy being the backside).

EDIT: Looks like Japan also offers the economy one-man Lion Dance model.
Here's a Lion Dance website!
http://www.geocities.jp/czb17000/

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I'm still stuck on the "lion biting your head = good luck!" thing. I wonder if anybody told Sigfried & Roy?

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

Puppet: Om nom nom!
Stitch: > ____ <

[pirkaslimegirl.livejournal.com]

Much love for Angel's fettucchini antennas.