By Brendan Miller on January 24, 2024.
With a loud beat of the drum the Medicine Hat Public Library is getting set to celebrate the Chinese New Year by welcoming a traditional lion dance performance.
Also known as the Lunar new year, the Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 10 and will celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
Eight lion dancers from the Jing Wo Cultural Association in Calgary are planning to bring their loud and colourful performance to Medicine Hat on Feb. 4.
“Our mission statement and our main goal no matter what is to preserve the Chinese culture through lion dance, and to keep passing on these traditions, rituals and practices to the next generation. So for us, coming down to Medicine Hat is a big opportunity to expose this culture through lion dance,” says Brandon Mah, vice president of the Jing Wo Cultural Association and lion dancer.
A lion dance sees two dancers come together to make the illusion of a lion or dragon under a large colourful costume while dancing to symbols, a gong and the beat of a drum. The dance itself is said to date back hundreds of years.
Mah says the drum represents the heart beat of the lion, which is said to be a strong and powerful creature in Chinese culture.
“So if the lion’s a little more energetic, the drum is faster or louder, and then more curious, you’ll have wider drum and the cymbals and the gong kind of accompany that drum to give it that noise level to it,”
Performances, loud nosies and firecrackers set off during the celebrations are used to ward away evil spirits and bad luck.
“The lion performs to usher in the good luck and the good fortune but also to ward away those evil spirits and bad luck. So that’s why we perform the dance itself,” says Mah.
Out of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals the dragon is said to be the strongest. In Chinese culture people born in the Year of the Dragon are said to have a strong sense of individuality and a desire for freedom.
“Some characteristics with the Year of the Dragon, there’s a lot of strength and power, good fortune, confidence, independence, and people who are born within a Year of the Dragon, they are considered to have a lot of energy and charisma that attract success and opportunities,” says Mah. “The dragon is also known to have this sort of protective energy, it’s a guardian. So in Chinese culture the dragon is seen as a symbol of protection.”
The celebration will also include fun activities and provide those in attendance a taste of Chinese culture including a chance to try calligraphy.
The Chinese New Year celebration runs Feb. 4 beginning at 2 p.m in the Honor Currie Room at the Public Library and is open to the public.
Editors note: An earlier version fo the story misspelled Brandon Mah’s name as Marshall.
Brendan Miller, Januari 24, 2024 Kwa sauti kubwa ya ngoma, Maktaba ya Umma ya Medicine Hat inajiandaa kusherehekea Mwaka Mpya wa Kichina kwa kuwakaribisha waigizaji wa dansi ya jadi ya simba. Mwaka mpya wa Kichina, unaojulikana pia kama Mwaka Mpya wa Mwezi, huanguka Februari 10 na huadhimisha Mwaka wa Dragon. Wanamuziki wanane wa dansi ya simba kutoka Chama cha Utamaduni cha Jingle Bells huko Calgary wamepanga kuleta maonyesho yao ya sauti na rangi kwa Medicine Hat Februari 4. <unk> Taarifa yetu ya utume na lengo letu kuu haijalishi ni kuhifadhi utamaduni wa Kichina kupitia densi ya simba, na kuendelea kupitisha mila hizi, mila na mazoea kwa kizazi kijacho. Kwa hivyo kwa sisi, kuja chini ya Medicine Hat ni fursa kubwa ya kufunua utamaduni huu kupitia densi ya simba, "anasema Brandon Mah, makamu wa rais wa Chama cha Utamaduni cha Jing Wo na densi ya simba. Katika dansi ya simba, wachezaji wawili huja pamoja ili kuunda udanganyifu wa simba au joka chini ya mavazi makubwa yenye rangi wakati wa kucheza kwa alama, gong na mdundo wa ngoma. Inasemekana kwamba dansi hiyo yenyewe ilianzishwa mamia ya miaka iliyopita. Mah anasema ngoma hiyo inawakilisha mapigo ya moyo wa simba, ambaye inasemekana kuwa kiumbe mwenye nguvu na nguvu katika utamaduni wa Kichina. "Kwa hivyo ikiwa simba ni mwenye nguvu zaidi, ngoma ni ya haraka au kubwa zaidi, na kisha ni ya kushangaza zaidi, utakuwa na ngoma pana na cymbals na gong aina ya kuandamana na ngoma hiyo kuipa kiwango hicho cha kelele, "" Maonyesho, nosies kubwa na firecrackers iliyowekwa wakati wa sherehe hutumiwa kuondoa roho mbaya na bahati mbaya. """ <unk>Simba hufanya ili kuanzisha bahati nzuri na bahati nzuri lakini pia ili kuondoa roho mbaya na bahati mbaya. Kwa hiyo <unk>ndiyo sababu tunacheza dansi yenyewe,<unk> anasema Mah. Kati ya wanyama 12 wa zodiac ya Kichina, joka ni moja ya wanyama wenye nguvu zaidi. Katika utamaduni wa Kichina, watu waliozaliwa katika Mwaka wa joka husemwa kuwa na hisia kali ya ubinafsi na tamaa ya uhuru. "Hii ni kwa sababu ya kuwa na nguvu nyingi, bahati nzuri, ujasiri, uhuru, na watu waliozaliwa ndani ya Mwaka wa Dragon, wanaonekana kuwa na nishati nyingi na charisma ambayo huvutia mafanikio na fursa. """ <unk>Dragoni pia anajulikana kuwa na aina hii ya nishati ya ulinzi, ni mlinzi. Katika utamaduni wa Kichina, joka ni ishara ya ulinzi na ni muhimu kwa ajili ya kuandaa sherehe za utamaduni wa Kichina na kuandaa fursa ya kujaribu calligraphy. Sherehe ya Mwaka Mpya wa Kichina huanza tarehe 4 Februari saa 2 jioni katika Chumba cha Heshima cha Currie katika Maktaba ya Umma na ni wazi kwa umma. Kumbuka waandishi: Toleo la awali la hadithi hiyo liliandika vibaya jina la Brandon Mah kama Marshall.