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Feast of the Drunken Dragon is an extraordinary festival compared with the
other foremost Chinese festivals in Macau. Organized by the fishermen associations
to honor the celestial dragon that mythically saved the people from plague,
Feast of the Drunken Dragon begins in the morning at the Kuan Tai Temple near
Senado Square. Men dressed with woodenheads and dragon tails perform a drunken
dance. Then, they proceed in the direction of the Inner Harbor, visiting some
shops and quay on the waterfront. At every stop they drink wine until they are
not able to go on. The participants and spectators end the day with a grand
dinner.
Feast of the Drunken Dragon dates back to the Kangxi Kingdom of the Qing Dynasty.
According to the fables once the villagers were carrying a statue of the Buddha
and praying intently to get rid of plague that annihilated their population
saw a giant python leaped out of the river onto the bank and obstructed their
path. A Buddhist monk cut the monster into three pieces that were then thrown
back into the river. A massive squall and thunder stormed as the pieces writhed
about, then they disappeared in to the sky. Later the villagers recovered from
the disease. Believing that a divine dragon had saved them, the villagers carved
its image. Each year during the Feast of the Bathing of the Lord Buddha they
drank with passion and danced with the dragon.
Feast of the Drunken Dragon is one of the most passionate festivals in Macau.
It tastes the endurance of the participants. The audiences also look cheerful
enjoying the full joviality and excitement of the festival in Macau.
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