What is the meaning of the lion dance during the Spring Festival? What are the types of lion dance?

Lion dance, also known as "playing with lions" or "lion dance", is a traditional dance form in my country, just like dragon dance. It is also a popular folk sports activity. Lion dance is also performed during the Spring Festival or celebrations. What is the meaning of lion dance during the Spring Festival? Let's take a look!

Contents of this article

1. What is the meaning of the lion dance during the Spring Festival?

2. What are the types of lion dance?

3. Why is lion dance called "Xingshi" in Guangdong?

What is the meaning of the lion dance during the Spring Festival?

The meaning of the lion dance during the Spring Festival is to celebrate and add to the fun. The lion is made of colorful cloth strips, and each lion is performed by two people, one dancing the head and the other dancing the tail. The performers dress up as lions and perform various lion movements to the sound of gongs and drums.

The Origin of the Chinese New Year Lion Dance

Lion dance, also known as "playing with lions" or "lion dance", is a traditional dance form in my country, just like dragon dance, and is also a popular folk sports activity. Lion dance is also performed during the Spring Festival or celebrations.

Lion dance began in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In my country, there are many forms of lion dance, which can be roughly divided into northern lion dance and southern lion dance. The appearance of the northern lion dance is very similar to that of a real lion, with the whole body covered with a lion cape. The lion dancers (usually two people dance a big lion together) only show their feet, and the person is not visible. The northern lion dance is divided into male and female, and also divided into civil lion, martial lion, adult lion and cub lion.

What are the types of lion dance?

Lion dance is divided into Southern Lion and Northern Lion.

1. Northern lions usually appear in pairs of male and female, led by their owners dressed as warriors. Sometimes a pair of northern lions are paired with a pair of small northern lions. The small lions tease the big lions, and the big lions play with the children for fun, showing the family love. The performance of northern lions is more like juggling, and the music is mainly based on Beijing cymbals, Beijing gongs, and Beijing drums.

2. The Southern Lion, also known as the Awakening Lion, has a rather fierce appearance and focuses on horse stance when dancing. The Southern Lion mainly relies on the movements of the dancers to express the fierce lion form. Usually, only two people dance one. The lion head is based on the facial makeup of operas, with bright colors and exquisite workmanship, and the eyelids and mouth can move.

Why is lion dance called "Xingshi" in Guangdong?

reason:

1. Guangdong people focus on business first. The pronunciation of “wu” (dance) is similar to that of “wu” (nothing), which means “nothing”. It is unlucky and not conducive to a prosperous business, so the word “xing” is used instead.

2. In Cantonese, the word “醒” means smart and awake, and it implies spirituality and auspiciousness.

3. Lion dance is expressed as "醒狮" in Cantonese. This name was first spread in Hong Kong. Most Cantonese people watch Jade TV, Asia Wireless, etc. It was passed down from generation to generation and spread all over the world.