Dragon’s
Blessing
Upon a
Beauteous
Scene
This is
the main
lantern
of this
year’s
lantern
festival
and is
erected
at the
center
of the
sports
plaza.
The
dragon-themed
lantern
is
around
80 m in
height,
and is
draped
with
gray
fabric
to give
it the
texture
of rock,
giving
it
especially
majestic
looks.
The
design
was to
have the
dragon
turn its
head
around
to look
at the
thousand
years
old
ancient
ship at
the
central
of the
stage.
There
are
actually
two
underlying
meanings
to the
design –
the
first
being
that
2012 is
the year
of the
dragon,
the
second
being
that
dragons
are
symbols
of
prosperity.
We hope
that
everyone
will
have a
peaceful
and
bountiful
year of
the
dragon.
Heavenly
and
Saint
Mother
Matsu is
the
guardian
goddess
of the
oceans.
He-who-looks-a-thousand-li
and
He-who-listens-to-wind
are her
personal
retainer
guardians.
The
subsidiary
lantern
erected
next to
Tianhou
Pavilion
symbolizes
the
continuous
protection
granted
to the
people
of
Lukang
by
Matsu,
hoping
that
everyone
will be
enjoying
peace
and
success.
The
biggest
feature
of this
lantern
was that
Matsu’s
face was
made
without
any
frame
work
support,
and thus
would
require
extremely
skilled
work. I
personally
think
that it
is a
figure
of
respect
towards
the
goddess!
Pixi
Hauling
Fortune
Pixi is
a
mythical
creature
known
for its
acceptance
of hard
labor,
and is
often
seen in
temples.
This
time,
the Pixi
hauls
fortune.
The
delicate
metaphor
seems to
describe
how we
all want
full
blessings,
and thus
dispatched
the Pixi
to do
the hard
labor
for us.
One more
thing of
note:
this
Pixi has
short
stumpy
legs,
giving
it the
appearance
of a
short
turtle!
A Brief
Glimpse
of Horns
After
arriving
at
Lukang,
disembarking
off the
shuttle
bus and
walking
towards
the
lantern
display
district,
we can
see the
subsidiary
lantern
erected
not far
away at
the
plaza,
holding
its head
up and
looking
distantly
away. It
is
surrounded
by four
small
deer to
form
five
“dears”
of
fortune,
wishing
everyone
great
prosperity.
During
the
night
when the
lights
are
turned
on, the
lantern
takes on
a more
life-like
appearance.
One can
almost
hear the
hooves
of the
deer
galloping
this way
towards
them.
Ao Leaps
over the
Dragon’s
Court
Ao is
one of
the nine
children
of the
dragon.
It is
depicted
leaping
out of
the
water
surface
on a
base,
creating
a mighty
splash.
The Ao
is also
accompanied
by an
army of
shrimps
and
crabs to
give it
a sense
of
immense
majesty.
The
scales
of this
Ao
seemed
to be
made of
porcelain
material
that
shone.
How
pretty
it is!
Main
lantern
show and
firework
《Source
of photos
and video: six little
lanterns and our
teachers》
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