Praying for luck when dragon raises its head

Updated: 2012-02-23 17:24

(chinadaily.com.cn)

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Praying for luck when dragon raises its head

Villagers take part in a traditional cooking competition in Zaozhuang, Shandong province on Feb 22. Villagers in some parts of Shandong province hold competitions every year on Feb 2 of the lunar calendar to cook soybeans or corn, to save the dragon from the god's curse.[Photo/Xinhua]

One of the legends about Long Tai Tou says the dragon was trapped under a mountain by the Jade Emperor, a Chinese god in Taoism, because the dragon showed sympathy for the people and poured rain on the dried soil, which violated the god's will to stop rain for three years. The people's sincere prayers for the dragon finally moved the god to save the dragon.

A contestant cooks corn during a cooking competition in Zaozhuang, Shandong province on Feb 22. [Photo/Xinhua]

A resident in Linyi, Shandong province, attaches a dragon-shaped paper cut-out to a window on Feb 21. Citizens in some parts of southern Shandong province attach colorful paper cut-outs in different shapes such as chickens, dragons and lanterns to windows, doors and barns, for good harvests. [Photo/CFP]