The 2012 beast sported “dragon breath.” Cornelliana Oi! Oi! Oi! Dragon Day Marks 125 Years of Beautiful Beasts Stories You May Like What’s White and Fluffy and Has a Dozen Paws? Alum’s Dog Troupe! For the Lynah Faithful, Ice Hockey Is a Matter of Tradition Backed by (Many!) Big Red Investors, a Famed Ithaca Inn Is Reborn Fueled by first-year architecture students, the March celebration has been a rite of spring for generations of alumni Editor's note: This story is an anniversary update to our historical feature from 2023. By Cornellians Staff Move over, bunnies and leprechauns: on East Hill, the other spring holidays take a backseat to a fantastic festival that’s quintessentially Cornellian—one that’s marking its 125th anniversary this year. For a century and a quarter, the campus community has celebrated the advent of mid-semester break with Dragon Day, a rite of spring that has long been a rite of passage for first-year architecture students. A horse and buggy power the dragon in the early 1900s. This year’s event, scheduled for March 27, will be based around the theme “veiled.” The design, AAP says, will involve "tensile fabric veiled over a concealed structural frame." But until the dragon’s public debut, only the students know the full character of the magnificent mythical beast. Like generations of Big Red architects before them, the first-years will cap weeks of intense work by triumphantly parading their creation across campus to great revelry, amid chants of “Dragon! Dragon! Dragon! Oi! Oi! Oi!” Even the A.D. White statue (here in 2009) gets decked out for the occasion. The 2018 phoenix enjoys an elevated perch. In 2013, a blank white dragon was doused with colorful paint en route. Toilet paper litters the Arts Quad in 1996. The phoenix in 2013. A “dragon’s egg” was set aflame in 2009. The phoenix in 2014. The dragon crew in 2016. The heads of previous dragons, on exhibit in Sibley Dome in 2015. The 2015 phoenix was hand-held. Putting the finishing touches on the 1984 dragon’s pearly whites. Some years, engineering students have also created a phoenix to do “battle” with the dragon—symbolizing the traditional rivalry between the two professions—as the parade passes the Engineering Quad. Physics students have even gotten in on the fun by crafting their own fantastical creature, a unicorn. For decades—before the advent of environmental sustainability concerns and state limitations on open burning—the event culminated in the dragon being set ablaze, generally in the middle of the Arts Quad. Two vertical versions from the 1980s. (Now, it’s merely disassembled, and the parts often reused.) In the week or so leading up to Dragon Day, good-natured interdepartmental pranks have long been de rigueur—as have some less benign ones, including (as legend has it) the release of a green-painted pig in the Ivy Room in the mid-1960s, prompting a massive food fight. (Note: Cornellians does not endorse this! Don’t release pigs or throw food! And while we’re at it: keep that TP on the roll where it belongs, not dangling from trees on the Arts Quad!) The dragon passes by Sibley Hall in 1970 ... ... and parades through campus in 2024. Other traditions include a costumed “nerd walk” and the so-called “green streak”—which, in days of yore, may have involved actual streaking, but in recent decades has meant the more modest use of body paint. However the details have evolved from one generation to another, the occasion remains fabulously festive. In the week or so leading up to Dragon Day, good-natured interdepartmental pranks have long been de rigueur. Sometimes its design is fairly abstract, other times more representational—but it’s always a huge hit with the crowd. Stories You May Like What’s White and Fluffy and Has a Dozen Paws? Alum’s Dog Troupe! For the Lynah Faithful, Ice Hockey Is a Matter of Tradition The architects’ eye-popping talents are on vivid display. Students dress up in elaborate homemade costumes, and the parade draws throngs of admirers—including many faculty and staff (and, often, their very excited kids), lining the route and gleefully following behind the beast. The beast gives side-eye in 2005, and a flaming dragon on a snowy day. The dragon itself—a massive creation stretching as much as 100 feet long and operated by a veritable army of architects—is a labor of Big Red love, representing untold hours of effort and enormous creativity. “Our college is such a small section of Cornell, but this is such a major event,” notes Jenn Michael, AAP’s senior director of student experience. “I think alumni really appreciate that students are carrying on something that’s been around for a long time and are still super dedicated to it.” Alumni really appreciate that students are carrying on something that’s been around for a long time and are still super dedicated to it. Jenn Michael, AAP’s senior director of student experience Dragon Day traces its roots to none other than the namesake of Cornell’s student union: AAP alum Willard Straight 1901, who founded it during his senior spring as a venue for celebrating architecture on the Hill. Originally observed on St. Patrick’s Day, it involved decking out Lincoln Hall (then the college’s home) with shamrocks, orange-and-green banners, and—later—serpents, representing the beasts that St. Patrick drove out of Ireland. An early 1900s entry seems part centipede. In the dragon’s mouth in 2006. Aflame on the Arts Quad in 2005. President Frank H.T. Rhodes at the 1993 parade. In 2007, a bamboo-like beast. An abstract design in 2014. The 2006 dragon came complete with a model of Rand Hall. A burning beast in 2005. An abstract creation for 2017. On parade in 1981. A pointy-beaked beast in 2002. Chanting the traditional refrain in 2015. A toothy grin in 2016. A minimalist creation in 2022. A two-toned creation in 2010. A Jazz Age dragon in 1927. In 1979, an angry-looking incarnation. President Skorton gets up close in 2010. Shiny scales in 2019. The guest of honor in 1995. Extinguishing the blaze. Channelling the dragon’s spirit in 2018. Propelling the beast in 2009. In the 1950s, serpents evolved into dragons, and the event became the joyful jamboree beloved by modern-day alums. Since 2013, Dragon Day has been celebrated the Friday before Spring Break, due to a change in the academic calendar that shifted the break to the last week of March. Dragon Day traces its roots to none other than the namesake of Cornell’s student union: AAP alum Willard Straight 1901. (For decades prior, the event had taken place on St. Patrick’s Day or the day before Spring Break, whichever came first.) Sadly, Dragon Day had to be skipped for two years due to COVID—but it came roaring back in 2022, with a stripped-down, two-headed beast constructed of recycled materials, including repurposed paper and wooden pallets. Who Needs Halloween? “It’s so great for students to be able to say that they’re doing the same thing that people did 100 years ago,” Michael observes. “They’re so talented and creative, and they really take it seriously. They know they’re carrying on this tradition that’s been around for a very long time.” Top: The 2012 beast sports “dragon breath.” (Archival images courtesy of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and Rare and Manuscript Collections; recent dragons and campus scenes by Cornell University photographers.) Published March 5, 2026 What’s your favorite Dragon Day memory? Comments Philip B Zimmermann, Class of 1973 20 Mar, 2026 I was interested to see the photo of the dragon from 1970 since I had never seen any documentation from that year, which was my Freshman year. I was involved, but mostly making the papier-maché head. But I was part of the larger group that ended up getting it done. The whole dragon that year was pretty half-assed as anyone can see when comparing it with other years. There was not much enthusiasm for making it –you have to realize this was the height of the anti-Viet Nam demonstrations and protests against the war. In fact the classes a few weeks later were cancelled for the year and there were no final exams. The shootings at Kent State happened a few weeks later. Everything on campus revolved around anti-war demonstrations. Having said that, most of the people in the line in the photo were part of my close circle of architect friends. The third person in line is Diane Cho who later became one of the founders of Cho, Benn, one of the largest architecture firms in Baltimore. The guy in the background on the left is one of our beloved architecture professors, Klaus Herdeg, who had encouraged us to continue the dragon tradition. One other interesting factoid: in the background are all the huge beautiful chestnut trees that filled the Arts Quad and lined most of the streets in Ithaca. They were already infected with Dutch Elm Disease and they had rings of injection devices filled with some sort of anti-fungal medicine that they hoped would save them, but it didn’t work. Within another year they had all been chopped down and oaks and maples were planted to replace them. It was very sad. Reply Isabel Oyuela-Bonzani, Class of 2016 20 Mar, 2026 https://www.youtube.com/@CornellDragonDay/videos Hello! Not sure who last had access to the youtube account created but its an important archive created in 2012 by my dragon day year. If possible, someone please pass along to the current DD freshman chairs to make sure they film their day, contribute it to the youtube record, and try to pick this back up! 🙂 Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. 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