A rousing welcome for the year of Snake at LA

MANILA, Philippines - For almost one hour last Sunday night, three dragons and one lion kept clients of Little Asia (Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City, branch) on their feet after a hearty meal, scrambling for lucky coin and candies scattered by the four animals (of course, manned by humans underneath, including a little boy).

It’s an annual tradition to usher in the Chinese New Year (this time, Year of the Water Snake which started last Sunday, Feb. 10) observed by Little Asia owners, Lim brothers Charlemagne and Charlson and sister Charlene, who personally managed all four LA outlets (the three others are in Greenhills Promenade, San Juan City; McKinley Hills; and Lucky Chinatown).

As the three dragons (one of them, left, is trying to pick an ampaw, red envelope, pasted on the wall) and the lion danced around the restaurant, clients and the Lims’ invited guests had fun posing for pictures, some of them getting a peek into the animals’ heads and being greeted with a big smile by the ‘movers’ inside them.

‘The drum beat, very much like that of the Ati-Atihan, is meant to drive away evil spirits,’ said Charlemagne, ‘and to bring in good luck.’

Yes, the coins and candies gathered from the ‘scramble’ are not to be spent.

‘You keep them for good luck,’ reminded Charlemagne.

(Top photo shows, from left, Don Allado, Charlemagne, Charlene, boy inside lion, Tony Velasquez, Don’s wife Maricar de Mesa and Charlson.)