There are no records pinpointing exactly what year Bomb Day was initiated in Marysville, but it is assumed by most Chinese here the event must have been observed as far back as the 1860s when the First Bok Kai Temple was built. People who have done research on the Temple, though, look at the year 1880, when the present Temple was dedicated, as the start of Bomb Day celebrations in Marysville. They establish this fact from an article describing the dedication of the Temple in the April 2, 1880 issue of the Marysville Weekly Appeal, of which excerpts follow:

“The Boc—ky Church, or Chinese Temple, recently erected on D and Front Streets, in this city, was dedicated on Saturday with much pomp, noise and enthusiasm. The management under the committee composed of Yee Wood Gung, Wong Ting Oy, Chow You and Lung Sine, was successful in all points though the attendance was not as large as anticipated. At no time during Sunday were there present over fifteen hundred Chinese, male residents included. But they made noise enough for twice the number. At an early hour on the morning of the 21st instant a regular bombardment of the Yuba commenced with bombs and firecrackers, and by daylight the Temple was in order for formal dedication.”

“Ten priests, seven of whom traveled from San Francisco, took part in the dedication and procession to the temple. The procession, starting from C Street down First Street, moved under the inspiring music of the brass band. The procession was headed by a Chinese with a string of burning firecrackers hanging eight or ten feet from the end of a pole. Following were roasted and decorated pigs, sheep and other toothsome looking edibles, which were set up on trays having four shoulder handles and each were packed by the offering train, and one to be sacrificed upon the altar of the new Temple.”

“The festivities continued in a quiet way Tuesday and will conclude on the 24th on the lot near the old temple where prize bombs will be discharged into the air, and there will follow an energetic scramble among the young athletes to secure a charmed gift.”

Chinese who have been here since before the turn of the century recall bomb days that followed, from year to year. They explained that there were lapses during the First World War, in the early 1930s when China was involved in a revolutionary war and during the Second World War.

But of all the Bomb Day celebrations, the 1930 observance was perhaps the most spectacular and celebrated. That's the year a half a dozen leading movie newsreel companies covered the event for presentation in movie theaters throughout the nation and several foreign countries. There were an estimated 15,000 people at the parade, which included the famous Marysville Dragon which was brought back from "retirement" after 13 years of idleness. It was the year the famous Chinese opera singers, Hom York Lum and Hom Suey Fong, both sisters, were brought from San Francisco with a $30,000 bond and an assurance for their "safe return."

After World War II, Bomb Day in Marysville was renewed in 1947 and has been an annual event since.

Today’’s Marysville Bomb Day parades “aren’t what they used to be,” old—timers claim. Their complaint: “Gum Lung (translated Golden Dragon) isn't in it!”

For newcomers here, Moo Lung is Marysville Chinatown’s once famous parade dragon. He hasn't been out to play or scare off evil spirits since 1937. He’s been crated and preserved in the Bok Kai Temple by the Marysville Chinese Community. Age has taken its toll of the material which made up the elongated body of this once proud and colorful mythical serpent, which was crafted by artisians in China and shipped to Marysville at the cost of between $5,000 and $6,000 before the turn of the century.

It was regarded as the largest and finest parade dragon in the United States up to the Second World War. Gum Lung was the featured attractions of all the early Bomb Day processions. So famous was he that Chinese Communities in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and many more cities obtained his services in parades. In fact, Moo Lung was exhibited at a Worlds Fair in New York.

When first brought over from China, Moo Lung stretched out over 150 feet, utilizing about 100 men to carry him. But tears shortened this giant serpent to 100 feet when he was last seen in 1937 in San Francisco for a Chinese hospital charity parade.

This silken, jointed and jeweled reptile was the first dragon brought to this country. It paraded last in Marysville in 1930 after being idle since 1916.