Praying for luck when dragon raises its head A child gets a cute haircut at a barbershop in Xuchang, Henan province on Feb 22. Many Chines...

Praying for luck when dragon raises its head

A child gets a cute haircut at a barbershop in Xuchang, Henan province on Feb 22. Many Chinese who follow tradition choose to have their hair cut on Feb 2 of the lunar calendar. Hairdressers in Xuchang, Henan province, are extremely hot on this day. They advertise their services for children's "auspicious haircut" and "dragon haircut" for adults, hoping to bring luck to their customers and money to their pockets. (Photo/Asianewsphoto)

A child gets his hair shaved at a barbershop in Xuchang, Henan province on Feb 22. (Photo/Asianewsphoto)

Villagers in Sihua, Fujian province rub tofu balls during a traditional game on Feb 22. Villagers gather on Feb 2 every lunar year to make tofu balls, which are then loaded in a bowl held high by a young man for villagers to rub in the game. People will eat the balls they get after the game, praying for a safe and happy year. (Photo/Xinhua)

Villagers take part in a traditional cooking competition in Zaozhuang, Shandong province on Feb 22. Villagers in some parts of Shandong province hold competitions every year on Feb 2 of the lunar calendar to cook soybeans or corn, to save the dragon from the god's curse. (Photo/Xinhua)

A father gives his baby a head massage with eggs after a haircut at a care center in Hefei, Anhui province February 23, 2012. According to traditional Chinese belief, getting a haircut on the second day of the second Chinese lunar month, which falls on February 23 this year, is likely to bring good luck. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Feb 23 marks traditional Chinese festival Long Tai Tou (dragon head raising), which refers to the start of spring and farming. During the festival, held on the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, people play dragon lanterns, eat noodles, shave their hair, and pray for luck.

One of the legends about Long Tai Tou says the dragon was trapped under a mountain by the Jade Emperor, a Chinese god in Taoism, because the dragon showed sympathy for the people and poured rain on the dried soil, which violated the god's will to stop rain for three years. The people's sincere prayers for the dragon finally moved the god to save the drago