"Dragon Lifting Head" Haircuts

So yesterday I mentioned to my driver that Declan and Ken needed haircuts. He got very excited and said he needed one too and that he was going tomorrow. He spoke to me in Chinese and then tried to translate to me what he was saying. All I got from him was Tomorrow...February 2nd...Dragon and Haircut. To say I was confused would be a huge understatement. When he or I confuse each other our habit seems to be to just not and smile and say Ok!! Which is what I did.

A few hours later the kids and I were at home when he went to pick up Ken from work. I had not talked to Ken so it is pretty funny timing that on his drive home he asked Mr. Zhang to take him for a haircut. Mr. Zhang told him No, No, No! and that he had to go tomorrow. He apparently did the same thing he did with me and Ken got the same thing I did. Tomorrow...February 2nd...Dragon...and Haircut. But since they communicate better he also found out that he was calling tomorrow February 2nd because that is what it was on the old Chinese Calendar and that Good Luck was involved.

Since we are eager to try just about everything here and wanted to try and figure out what was going on the kids and I went to Intel with Mr. Zhang to pick him up for work. We figured we would go get the Good Luck haircuts afterwards. Ken decided to ask Mr. Zhang to take him to a new salon to go get his haircut because he did not like his last haircut. Mr. Zhang offered to take him to the salon he goes to in his neighborhood so off we went. Ok...the salon...it was the smallest little salon ever. One place to wash hair, three haircut stations, and get this...a cell phone store! I love China! The boys got their hair cut (they both look so handsome!!) while Mikayla and I watched. I think Ken got a much better haircut this time because Mr. Zhang helped translate what he wanted. When it was Declan's turn we just pointed to Ken's head and said to do the same. =-) It helps having the two of them look like twins!

After the haircuts Mr. Zhang wanted to take us out to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. It was oh so yummy and fun. =-) It was a very small place and Mikayla was her usual popular self. She made friends with many people and had people asking to have their picture taken with her. For some reason here in China people love to take pictures with her like she is famous. They all smile big and put their fingers into a peace sign. Mikayla cracked us up today by automatically putting her two fingers up today as well. I love that little girl!

So even though I should be asleep it was driving me crazy that I did not know why today was a special haircut day. I googled a few things with the date but got nothing. Then I googled China Dragon Haircut and Voila! Below is the answer for you to enjoy. =-)

March 17, 2010 "Just a month after the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations began, here comes another tradition, to have a haircut on the second day of the second month, or Er Yue Er, to hope for good luck for the whole year.

China's barber shops are seeing one of their busiest days of the year Wednesday, Er Yue Er, also known as Longtaitou (dragon raises head) day on the lunar calendar this year.

Many Chinese hold the superstitious belief that getting a haircut when the "dragon also raises its head" means they will have a vigorous start to the new year, but if a person has a haircut during the first month of the lunar year, his maternal uncle will die.

As a result, barbershops stay open almost 18 hours a day in the pre-Lunar New Year rush for haircuts that last for at least two weeks.

While women like to spruce up for the holiday, even men with short hair like to get a trim up before the new years begins lest their hair grows too long before their next haircut, scheduled on the second day of the second lunar month.

A Chinese legend goes that a poor barber loved his uncle dearly but could not afford a decent new year's gift for him. So he gave his uncle a nice haircut that made the old man look many years younger. His uncle said it was the best gift he had ever had and wished to get a haircut every year from him.

After his uncle died the barber missed him very much and cried every new year. Over the years, his "thinking of his uncle" (si jiu) was interpreted as "death of uncle" because in Chinese, their pronunciations are almost the same.

Cao Baoming, vice chief of China Society for the study of Fold Literature and Art says the lucky haircut tradition comes from the Chinese's worship of the dragon, as people believe it symbolizes luck.

"the lucky tradition which goes back thousand of years reflects people's wish to have a happy life," Cao said. "

Now I can finally get some sleep! I only wish I would have thought to take the camera today! Hope to write more SOON!!