The Drunken Dragon Festival

I had heard of the Drunken Dragon Festival, but since it's a lesser-known holiday hadn't experienced any of its events.  Thanks to Miranda's photos on Facebook, I realized that it was celebrated this weekend, here at the Red Market in Macau.  Thanks for sharing, Miranda!

Apparently its a holiday unique to Macau, and here's some further information per the Macau Museum website:

The Feast of the Drunken Dragon, also known as the Drunken Dragon and Lion Dance Gala, is a unique traditional folk festival celebrated by the fishmongers of Macao. Traditionally, on the evening of the seventh day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Macao residents engaged in the wholesale or retail trade of the fishing industry gather in the market, where they sit around the table to dine, which gradually evolved into the tradition of the ‘longevity rice’ feast. During the feast, a wooden dragon was made to dance on the incense burner table to pray for blessings.

The tradition of the drunken dragon dance celebrated by the Macao fishmongers was later developed into a regular festival activity jointly celebrated by all fishmonger associations on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, and became a unique and influential traditional folk festival in Macao, celebrated by all walks of life. The festival features a variety of activities, including the consumption of ‘longevity rice’, the ‘Drunken Dragon Parade’ and the distribution of free ‘longevity rice’, as well as two major performances of the ‘drunken dragon dance’ and ‘lion dance’.

The Feast of the Drunken Dragon was inscribed on the Tentative List of Macao S.A.R. Intangible Cultural Heritage Items in 2009 and the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2010.

And in other news, I received an e-newsletter from Tsinghua with these gorgeous photos of the campus.  They almost make me want to go back for a visit, despite the inevitable pollution (is it photo-shopped out?):