The surprisingly Australian history of Chinese dragon parades

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 04:31:59 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/the-surprisingly-australian-history-of-chinese-dragon-parades-221594>

"Tomorrow will usher in the lunar Year of the Dragon. Families and friends will
gather to feast, red packets will be gifted to youngsters, and dancing Chinese
lions accompanied by strings of crackers will scare away evil spirits and bring
good fortune to businesses.

In celebration of the new year, much-loved Chinese dragons will parade on
Australia’s streets, including Sun Loong in Bendigo and the Millennium Dragon
in Melbourne.

While dragon parades are popularly viewed as displays of Chinese or Cantonese
tradition and culture, their history demonstrates how deeply Australian they
also are.

Our historical research shows that until relatively recently Australia’s dragon
parade tradition was closely associated with Chinese-Australian philanthropy
and engagement with Australian civic life, rather than with Chinese spiritual
practice."

Share and enjoy,
               *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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