The day the dragon raised its head

I'm not a superstitious person, but recently found myself following superstition unwittingly by getting my hair cut on the second day of the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which fell on March 20 this year.

There is a belief in China, particularly in the North, that forbids one from having a haircut in the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, as doing so will bring a fatal curse on one's uncle.

In line with this belief, people usually put up with their long hair until the second day of the second month, which is known as "the day the dragon raises its head," symbolizing the coming of rain, or an abundant spring.

It is believed that a haircut on this day will bring one good luck in the new year.

Although I don't have any uncle, I did keep my hair until this day. But I didn't expect that so many others would do so too.

I made an appointment with my hairstylist for 8 pm. I got there on time but found that he was still busy with the previous customer. I've never seen a hair salon filled with so many people. All eight chairs were occupied and all the three stylists were busy snipping away, with hordes of others waiting their turn patiently.

It was already half-past 8 when my turn came. "You are my 16th customer today," said my hairstylist Qin.

Before he started with me, he kept exercising his fingers, adding that four more customers were expected later. "I'm not sure when I'll able to leave the shop, maybe after midnight," he said. He was yet to have his dinner.

Qin had started the day at 10 in the morning and had only managed a 15-minute break for lunch. That meant he had worked for more than 10 hours continuously.

"If you had not made an appointment, you would have missed the lucky day," he joked.

According to Qin, the day is always one of the busiest in the year.

I saw several people come in looking for service, but were all turned away for lacking an appointment. They looked quite disappointed.

Lucky me!

I found out later that most hair salons and barber shops in Beijing that day were crowded with people. At the Silian Barber Shop alone, one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the city, its 60 barbers had started work at 7 in the morning. But they still could not meet the demand.

Many unlicensed barbers in hutongs and old community areas, also saw very good business.

The next day when I came into office, one of my colleagues noticed my hair.

"Finally, you got your haircut," she said. "You really are superstitious," she said.

Well, let me just say, another of my colleagues who decided tradition was not for him, got his punishment - his new hairstyle is really weird!

(China Daily 03/22/2007 page20)