287
A duck and chicken wholesaler, one of the 73 managers for this year and a resident for over forty years, added that, in pre-war days, lion dancers from other districts would come uninvited to join the procession and compete for the money. This was the general practice in urban Hong Kong, and greatly contributed to both the excitement and the squabbles.
The annual celebrations were made more colourful, and noisier and more bustling still, by the presence of groups of worshippers who came in a body to worship at the temporary shrine and competed for the lucky crackers or pau (ki) which were fired from a bamboo gun. They exploded in the air to shower the worshippers with lucky papers, for which youths struggled to obtain for their homes. There was a money value attached to the first and subsequent numbers in the series, which increased the competitiveness of the occasion and added to its general roughness. A prosperous merchant might offer $500 for the first pau, the manager said.
It is obvious that in all these types of activity during the festival, excitement was at a high level, and tempers were hot. A propos of this, and as we were watching the boys holding up the front lion dancer on his pole, the vice-chairman said, “We won't put up with uncontrolled temper. If a lad can't keep it, he gets put out of the dance group”. In 1974, perhaps, it was easier to take this line than in earlier times, when competition was one of the highlights of these celebrations. By then, and as a direct result of the 1967 Disturbances, fire-crackers had been banned, and the processions round the streets to vie for the prizes dangling from shop fronts had been discontinued after the police ban. It was a quieter, and less boisterous event, at least in these respects, as a consequence of more crowded streets and increased vehicular traffic, which confined it to the playground and the restaurant in which the annual dinner was held to mark the occasion.
The ground was packed with people, and could not have held more.
This year, there were several women managers among the 73 selected for the event. I was told that men and women, without distinction or restriction, could be managers, and that this had
287
A duck and chicken wholesaler, one of the 73 managers for this year and a resident for over forty years, added that, in pre-war days, lion dancers from other districts would come uninvited to join the procession and compete for the money. This was the general practice in urban Hong Kong, and greatly contributed to both the excitement and the squabbles.
The annual celebrations were made more colourful, and noisier and more bustling still, by the presence of groups of worshippers who came in a body to worship at the temporary shrine and com- peted for the lucky crackers or pau (ki) which were fired from a bamboo gun. They exploded in the air to shower the worshippers with lucky papers, for which youths struggled to obtain for their homes. There was a money value attached to the first and subse- quent numbers in the series, which increased the competitiveness of the occasion and added to its general roughness. A prosperous merchant might offer $500 for the first pau, the manager said.
It is obvious that in all these types of activity during the festival, excitement was at a high level, and tempers were hot. A propos of this, and as we were watching the boys holding up the front lion dancer on his pole, the vice-chairman said, “We won't put up with uncontrolled temper. If a lad can't keep it, he gets put out of the dance group". In 1974, perhaps, it was easier to take this line than in earlier times, when competition was one of the highlights of these celebrations. By then, and as a direct result of the 1967 Disturbances, fire-crackers had been banned, and the processions round the streets to vie for the prizes dangling from shop fronts had been discontinued after the police ban. It was a quieter, and less boisterous event, at least in these respects, as a consequence of more crowded streets and increased vehicular traffic, which con- fined it to the playground and the restaurant in which the annual dinner was held to mark the occasion.
The ground was packed with people, and could not have held
more.
This year, there were several women managers among the 73 selected for the event. I was told that men and women, without distinction or restriction, could be managers, and that this had
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.