OROVILLE — Two fluffy lions, one white and one bright yellow, pranced down the street in front of the Oroville Chinese Temple, wiggling and winking at smiling children and their families, at the Lunar New Year festival on Saturday.
The roaring performance was put on by Leung’s White Crane lion dancers from San Francisco. The event also featured live calligraphy and live music.
Lion dancers perform at The Year of the Dragon festival in Oroville, California on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)
Karina Kwok, a full-time neurobiology student at UC Davis, performed as a “lion tail” in the lion dance performance. Kwok said performing on Lunar New Year in Oroville meant being away from her family in the Bay Area while they celebrate. However, she said performing on the holiday is a rewarding experience.
“It brings the meaning of Lunar New Year here, you know? Just seeing the gathering of families together, celebrating,” Kwok said.
Being a lion tail comes with the “heavy work,” Kwok said. The tail acts as a base for stunts including a head stand, where the lion looks as though it’s standing on its hind legs. The performer in the front of the lion, the head, controls the expressions.
“We have this phrase in Chinese; if I translate it it’s, ‘Ten minutes worth (of) the show is actually one year’s worth of practice off the stage,’” Kwok said.
During the performance, the lions prowled the border of the crowd, opening their mouths and tilting their heads as children shrieked and laughed, occasionally putting money in their mouths.
“It was spot on,” said Donald Ehrsam, goat farmer from Cherokee. “It was nice that they played to the crowd really well.”
Festival visitors give offerings to lion dancers at The Year of the Dragon festival in Oroville, California on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)
Theodore Miland, local blues musician, attended the event with his wife and daughter. He said there were more people this year and that it was “fantastic” to see the community gather.
“As I get older, I realize we need this,” Miland said.
Duhram resident Lin Li donned an all-red outfit embellished with colorful Chinese embroidery at the event. Li, originally from the Chinese province Shanxi, came to the event with her son, Chester Zook, and her husband, Deitrich Zook.
“My son is half Chinese. I think it’s important for him to know Chinese culture, and also I’m homesick. All my family is in China. They’re celebrating today,” Li said.
Traditions
Originally, Li thought she wouldn’t be able to celebrate the holiday, then she found the event.
“This is perfect,” Li said.
Li’s son said he likes the celebrations, decorations and firecrackers that come with the holiday. His favorite Lunar New Year food is dumplings.
In the Lunar New Year calendar, there are 12 years that each represent a zodiac animal from Chinese folklore. Saturday marked the start of the Year of the Dragon, which is Li’s Chinese zodiac.
In Chinese culture, it is believed that when your year rolls around, you will either have very good or very bad luck, Li said. To maintain good luck, you are supposed to wear red everyday. Li said people will often get something easy to wear daily like a red belt or a stack of red socks.
Li is a Christian, and though she finds it important and special to celebrate Lunar New Year, she doesn’t believe in the superstition that comes with it. Before coming to the event, Li explained to her son they were only coming to celebrate the new year and Chinese culture.
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“It’s the culture part and the superstitious part, how do I separate it? That’s very difficult,” Li said.
The dragon is the only mythical animal in the Chinese zodiac calendar and is considered especially lucky. Next year is the Year of the Snake.
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