CHINESE people used to believe that the Dragon King was a divine ruler of the oceans, similar to how the Greeks regarded Poseidon. Naturally, the Dragon King has the power to manipulate the weather and control the rain, which is important for annual harvests. Since ancient China heavily depended on agriculture, the second day of second lunar month is significant. We call this day Spring Dragon Day or Longtaitou, which means “dragon raises its head” in Chinese. This unique name is derived from a legendary story.

    The legend started with the one and only empress in Chinese history, Wu Zetian. She was an empress for 16 years in the Tang dynasty (618-907). Apparently, the female ruler’s coronation aggravated the Jade Emperor, who is the ruler of Heaven. The Jade Emperor ordered the Dragon King to bring about a three-year drought upon the earth, and the people suffered from famine and thirst. When the Dragon King saw the earth covered with withered crops and putrid corpses, he could not help but to defy the Jade Emperor and brought rain to the earth.

    The Jade Emperor was infuriated by the Dragon King’s defiance. He punished the Dragon King by imprisoning him underneath a mountain, on which a steel was erected. It read: “The defiant Dragon King brought rainfall to the earth. He ought to be punished and suffer. The punishment will lasts forever unless the golden beans blossom.”

    People appreciated the Dragon King’s altruism so they brainstormed and sought for golden beans. On the second day of the second lunar month, a person saw an old lady selling popcorn in the market. Suddenly, he realized that the yellow popcorn is just like golden bean blossoms. Therefore, people started to make popcorn, hoping to free the Dragon King.

    Consequently, the Jade Emperor fulfilled his promise. The Dragon King regained his power and revitalized the earth with abundant rainfall, which brought people a good harvest.

    Therefore, we honor the Dragon King with the festival Longtaitou on this day, which also marks the last day of the Spring Festival celebration. After Longtaitou, people were supposed to be well-rested and return to working on their farms. To prevent a slothful holiday syndrome, people celebrate with a variety of foods for a boost of spirit as well as for honoring the Dragon King.

    During this special day, popcorn tops our menu. The traditional method of making popcorn is manual. People heat up kernels of corn in a spherical container. This antique method made its impression to the world in 2013 through the Discovery channel.

    Other foods on Spring Dragon Day resemble body parts of the Dragon King. Among them, spring rolls are worldly-renowned. The major ingredients of spring rolls may vary in different provinces and countries, catering to local palates. Most commonly, we wrap shredded pork, carrots, cabbage, and scallion with a skin made of flour. In fact, the skins are called spring pancakes, which resemble the scales of Dragon King. Furthermore, mahua (fried dough twist) takes the form and texture of his skeleton. We also call wontons dragon’s teeth and noodles dragon’s beards on the day of Longtaitou.