The Chinese Dragon Mask/Crafts

The most important event of the Chinese New Year is the parade through the city streets. The parade features dragon and lion dances bursting fire crackers to drive off evil spirits.

The dragon mask is an important symbol for agricultural prosperity and is used in rain dance, where in the Chinese people wish for a good harvest. The dragon mask heralds the Chinese New Year celebrations and other festive events.

The traditional dragon mask is often very bright which features a jaw wide open or sometimes may be portrayed as a large round mouth. In the dragon dance procession which is performed on the streets, the leader of the procession wears the fierce looking mask above his head and a long brightly colored cloth carried by a train of dancers hidden beneath the cloth follow the leader in the procession.

The dragon mask is decked with feathers, fur highlights and bright colors like gold, red or blue are used. The dragons are often crafted with a combination of bamboo and silk. The mask is so dynamic that it stands out even in large crowds.

The Chinese dragon mask can be crafted easily by the kids. The head and the tail of the dragon are drawn separately on a paper. Then they are decorated using feathers, bright colors like blue or red and some glitter. A long rectangle is made with a paper and is folded like an accordion. The rectangle paper folded like an accordion is colored with bright colors which acts like the body of the dragon. One end of the rectangle paper is glued or taped to the head of the dragon and the other end is taped to the tail of the dragon. A colorful dragon mask is thus crafted to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

People who are interested in wearing the dragon masks for the festivities can buy the masks as different designs of dragon masks are now available in the market. A new design of the dragon mask is the Green Flame Dragon mask, designed by Andrea Masse-Tognetti. The mask is made with top-grade 8 oz leather and is water resistant. The mask is painted with colorfast Liquitex acrylics. A leather tab and green organza ties comes with the mask for hanging and for wearing.

Andrea Masse-Tognetti designed the Green Flame Dragon Mask, when he is inspired by the old bronze dragons in the Asakusa shrine in Japan where the dragons turn green with age.

Another dragon mask designed by him is the brand new Cloud Dragon. The mask is hand shaped and hand carved and colorfast Liquitex Acrylic paints are used. The mask is made based on the fact that the dragons fly through clouds. The mask is provided with gold organza ties for wearing.

The dragon mask plays a vital role in the Chinese New Year parades and in Chinese culture.