The Christmas Dragon is the tale of a young orphan girl named Ayden who, along with her courageous friends, a mysterious warrior and a beautiful elf, must begin a perilous journey; escaping dragons, goblins and ogres to return a stolen Christmas orb to the North.
To celebrate the film’s release, we explore 15 true facts about dragons.
Hailing from the mists of ancient lore, dragons remain deeply embedded in modern cultures across the world. From the knightly tales of dragon slaying from medieval Europe, to the flying, fire breathing, water-dwelling giants of Chinese lore, the legend remains strong today. And still, dragons thrive in popular culture through books such as the Hobbit and the Harry Potterseries.
1. The word “dragon” comes from the Greek word “draconta,” which means “to watch.” The Greeks saw dragons as beasts that guarded valuable items. In fact, many cultures depict dragons as hoarding treasure.
2. “Dragon” is actually a family term that includes other mythological creatures, such as cockatrices, gargoyles, wyverns, phoenix, basilisks, hydras, and even some hybrid man-dragon creatures. You’ve probably seen some of these in movies or books.
3. Ancient Greeks and Sumerians spoke of giant “flying serpents” in their scrolls and lectures. Dragons are depicted as snake or reptile-like.
4. The Komodo dragon is a real type of monitor lizard, which is aggressive and deadly. They can be 10 feet long and use toxic bacteria in their mouths to wound their prey.
5. Dragons have never had a particular personality. This is unlike the unicorn, which is always known to be a majestic, peaceful creature. The dragon is sometimes regal and protective. Other times it’s deadly and destructive.
6. The people of Iceland held dragons in such high regard that Viking raiding ships with carved dragon figureheads weren’t allowed near shore, just in case they were provoked. Dragons now adorn the country’s coat of arms!
7. Ancient Celts saw dragons as very powerful creatures with the ability to see the future. Dragons were worshipped in the belief that they were a kind of bridge between the heavens and earth. And, as with many other ancient western cultures, they believed they guarded the gates of the underworld and that people would encounter them in death.
8. England’s very own St George is famous for slaying a dragon that kidnapped the daughter of the king and held her captive. But it was with
the help of an enchanted orange tree that our patron saint tracked down the beast and completed his mission.
9. Fairly universal amongst different cultures is the rarity of dragons, which were deemed to be very scarce creatures.
10. In medieval Europe, dragons were feared as being harbingers of evil, heavily associated with the Prince of Darkness.
11. People have been digging up dinosaur fossils for millennia, and for millennia people naturally assumed they were dragon bones. What else could they be?
12. The ancient Chinese believed in three different species of dragon- “lung” (sky), “li” (sea) and “kiau” (marsh) dragons. However, oriental cultures held no fear for the dragon, rather they were regarded as bringers of health, wealth and good fortune.
13. Dragons could have wings, or not. Those with wings could fly, some with wings couldn’t. Some dragons without wings couldn’t fly, others could.
Hmmm…
14. Similar to the ancient Chinese species, many people believed dragons lived under the sea, others deep under the earth in caves or high up on
mountaintops. In short, anywhere away from humans.
15. As in other legends, dragons often possess features from different animals – elephant heads, lions claws and birds beaks. They could show a
range of different colours including red, blue or green, to darker earth tones of brown. Different cultures would attribute different meanings to
these colours.
Koch Media Presents The Christmas Dragon on DVD now for Christmas, 2015
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