Like fireworks, the lion dance is intended to frighten off evil spirits. But the lion is quite endearing to ordinary folk, and never fails to secure donations of cash-stuffed red envelopes courtesy of gracious business owners. Sometimes, the lion is offered a head of lettuce or sheng cai—which is contains Chinese homonyms for “new birth” and “money.”
 
The earliest lion dances were performed especially for nobility but the tradition was gradually popularized and evolved into two main schools: Northern and Southern. The Northern variety resembles a Lhasa Apso dog, covered from head to toe in shaggy red and gold hair. Americans may recognize this species from its appearance in Big Bird Goes to China: in one scene, Northern Lions romped with Barkley the giant dog, to whom the mythical felines bore an uncanny resemblance. Southern lions, less furry than their Northern kin and bedecked in colored cloth, and metallic trimmings, are the type more commonly found in American Chinatowns, dancing in pairs. On clear days, you may be able to spot some Southern Lion heads hanging from Pearl River’s ceiling.
 
Underneath each gaping lion head is a troop of dancers, trained to coordinate the lion’s every move, from acrobatic kicks and splits to reverent bows before local business owners to the playful batting of enormous eyelids. The rotund, jocular man bouncing alongside the lions is the Laughing Buddha, who taunts the lions as they bounce through the crowds.
 
For photographs of a traditional lion dance, see the Chinese Lion Dance Gallery.