Man puts live reptile through his mouth and nose as China continue
celebrating year of the snake•China celebrates the arrival of the new
year with weeklong festivities
A performer wow the crowd in Beijing with a less-than-appetizing snake
act, putting the heads of live reptiles in his mouth during a festival
for the Chinese new year.
Celebrations continued across China and the globe today with thousands of Lunar Festivals to commemorate the year of the snake.
The fair at the Ditan Temple in Beijing featured the troupe which performed with different types of snakes on stage.
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, began on Sunday,
marking the start of the Chinese zodiac's year of the snake.
More...•Chinese New Year goes off with a slam around the world... but
not in Beijing, where the government told people to avoid setting off
fireworks
The Lunar New Year remains the most important festival for Chinese people, resembling a Western Christmas with a weeklong
of family reunions, gifts and gastronomic excess.
The snake zodiac is said to bring financial success and a blossoming
social life although it has been known to hold bad tidings and is not as
loved as the powerful dragon of 2012.
‘In Chinese mythology, snakes were often associated with monsters, or
with incarnations of monsters, so some political turbulence can be
expected,’ said Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi.
In China, some couples have apparently been trying to schedule their
pregnancies to avoid having children born during the snake year, in
contrast to the coveted ‘Year of the Dragon’.
However Tsai is largely upbeat on the new Chinese year. He believes
much-needed liquidity will be injected into struggling world economies,
and that babies born over the next 12 months will be both self-motivated
and agile.
For souvenir makers, snakes have been a tough sell.
‘Last year, our business was a lot better, because everybody loves the
dragon, whatever his or her animal sign,’ said Lin Peixiang, who owns
the Beixiang Souvenir Factory in the city of Wenzhou.
‘This year, business is a lot worse, because only those born in the year of the snake love the animal.
'The snake sign is a symbol of fear. People get scared when they see or hear the snake.’
