In the West we grew up with stories of dragons that were meant to be battled with. In the East, children grow up with stories of kind dragons as protectors and providers.
Dragons are the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac and also play a central part at weddings.
Did you know? Historically, the dragon was the sign of the emperor and of the China’s snaking, life-giving rivers. Today it’s has been adopted as the symbol of the Chinese people.
A famous song, Legend Of The Dragon, says:
There’s a dragon in the old east.
Its name is China.
There’s a group of people in the old East.
They’re all dragon heirs.
I grew under the dragon’s feet.
After growing up, he was an heir to a dragon.
Black eyes, black hair, yellow skin.
This song is about being proud of Chinese cultural, historical and geographical heritage. In modern China, Dragons have become a symbol of normal Chinese people — dragons are still believed to be powerful and kind.
Your Dragon box features these [fairly self-explanatory] items and activities:
- 2metre rainbow exercise dragon with string. Learn how to make the dragon weave and dance! This is really fun but also a great tool for kids with sensory issues as it helps them work on gross motor skills and fluidity of movement. It’s also something you can often see people using to exercise with by the side of rivers throughout China.
- Gold dragon decal – for your phone, mug, etc. If put on clean, dry surfaces this dragon should be fairly hard wearing.
- 1 large and 1 small reusable dragon masks with disposable inserts
- 4 color-in DIY dragon masks
- Yellow gold dragon pencil case with dragon button [not attached so you can add to the pencil case or another item if you’d prefer]
- Chinese culture card
- Chinese vocabulary card
We hope your family enjoys all of these different, dragon themed activities!
And as a bonus, if your kids were born in 2012, they ‘belong to dragons’ [born in the year of the dragon].