LION DANCE SHOW ELEMENTS

EATING THE LETTUCE CEREMONY (CHOY CHENG)

In traditional lion dance performances, the team gets its payment through money in a red envelope (Lai Si, Mandarin Hong Bao) that’s tied up to a lettuce or suitable green vegetable. The lettuce is then hung up at the top of the doorpost, or in other hard-to-reach places. The climax of the performance is the lion “eating” the lettuce.

After “spotting” the lettuce, the lion performs three inspections on it. The first time, it carefully touches it and jumps away, cautious about what it is. The second time, it approaches it from the other side and smells it, retreating once again. Finally it makes up its mind and comes forward with determination to eat it. If the lettuce is in a hard to reach place, this last approach can involve an acrobatic trick, such as the lion’s head jumping on shoulders, or the lion jumping on benches. There may also be “obstacles” the lion must pass through or neutralise before it can access the lettuce.

Once the lettuce is in the lion’s mouth, it swallows a bit (once on each side), then spits a small amount (also once on each side) towards the spectators — this is considered good luck. The lion then turns towards the door and spits out the majority of the lettuce, kicking it while in the air. The lettuce shatters and goes over the doorstop and inside the building — again this is considered good luck.