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Chinese New Year, the 1st day of lunar calendar falls on Jan. 29 this year, 2006. The traditional lion dance is believed to bring good luck and always draw a huge crowd. The dance group dressed in bright costumes, performs stunning acrobats accompanied by folk music and drum. They usually receive a "big red envelop" (cash inside) as reward from the store or household where they perform in front of. It's almost like singing Christmas carols from house to house.

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The Chinese Lion Dance goes back some one thousand years. The first record of the performance of an early form of the Lion Dance dates to the early Ch’in and Han Dynasties (Third Century B.C.)

The lions express joy and happiness. From the fourth day to the fifteenth of the New Year, lion dance groups would tour from village to village in traditional China.