<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Enter the dragon</h2>

Run rabbit run. At midnight tonight, the skies above China will explode with over a billion fireworks.¹ The Year of the Rabbit will come to an end. The Year of the Dragon will begin.

The Lunar New Year² is the world's biggest festival. It spans over two weeks, from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival fifteen days later. Over two billion people celebrate it: around a quarter of the world's population.³

China will erupt in celebration. Cities will be covered in red decorations to bring good fortune. Tomorrow, the streets will throng with dragon dances.⁴ Houses and shops will be adorned with auspiciousFavourable or promising. pictures and calligraphyThe practice of decorative handwriting. .

It is a time for community. Families will gather to eat spring rolls, dumplings and rice cakes. Prayers and sacrifices will be offered to ancestors. People will give their friends, relatives and employees red envelopes stuffed with money. Billions of such exchanges will take place.

Lunar New Year sparks the world's biggest migration. In China alone, an estimated 200 million people travel long distances to meet their families. Throughout the holiday period, 3.5 billion journeys are made as people move around to meet relatives.

Years on the Chinese calendar are named after the twelve zodiacThe term derives from a Greek word for a sculpture of an animal. animals.⁵ Each animal grants its own attributes to people born in its year. The dragon is the most revered of these creatures.

People born during dragon years are thought to embody honour, leadership and success. This has led to increased birth rates. Parents want their children to grow up as dragons.

Chinese dragons are god-like beings. They resemble snakes, fish and turtles. Some protect China's great rivers and lakes. They can control the weather, leading to both fertile fields and natural disasters. Others signify imperial power and authority. The earliest Chinese emperors were believed to be reincarnated dragons.

Dragons are mythical creatures. Few believe they actually exist. But many people think they have a symbolic power. AstrologerSomebody who studies the movements of the moon, sun and stars in the belief that this has influence on people's lives. Charlotte Frejya-Richwoods, for instance, believes that the Year of the Dragon will "see many changes to leadership within countries".

Sceptics claim that these predictions are hogwash. 2024 will see a record two billion people voting in 50 elections, a world record. You do not need a dragon to guess that some governments will change. We should ignore mysticism and focus on facts.

Even if dragons are mere myths, however, they do play a role in forming how we think. Stories about dragons can teach us lessons. They can inform our language. MandarinAs well as the name for China's largest language group, Mandarin was also a name given to a type of bureaucrat in Imperial China. contains numerous idiomsA phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning of the words. about dragons, for example.⁶

And they have a symbolicA sign or representation of something else. power. In China, for instance, the dragon is associated with spring and renewal. They can help us to think about the passing of time and our future. As the historian Arthur M Schlesinger claimed: "Science and technology revolutionise our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response."

Can dragons really help us?

Yes: Human society is made of stories. They give communities shared understanding, illustrate examples and teach us valuable lessons. And dragons star in legends all over the world, from Japan to Norway.

No: Dragons have been with us for centuries: in 1755, French writer Denis Diderot wrote "There are already all too many fabulous stories of dragons". If they could help us they would have done so by now.

Or... Dragons may not be able to help us directly. But that they hold such a large place in human imagination suggests that they must have an enormous significance. We might not have found it yet.

Auspicious - Favourable or promising.

Calligraphy - The practice of decorative handwriting.

Zodiac - The term derives from a Greek word for a sculpture of an animal.

Astrologer - Somebody who studies the movements of the moon, sun and stars in the belief that this has influence on people's lives.

Mandarin - As well as the name for China's largest language group, Mandarin was also a name given to a type of bureaucrat in Imperial China.

Idioms - A phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning of the words.

Symbolic - A sign or representation of something else.