

It also involves the centuries-old initiation which is made to inaugurate ship passengers who have never passed through the line, where they will be forced to prove that they are worthy to make the transition.

The Navy and Coast Guard Initiation Ceremony The certificate follows a standard size of 21.59 cm x 27.94 cm format. The Domain of the Golden Dragon certificate basically contains information like the date of the certification awarding, the name of the passenger, the authorization that they are allowed to enter the realm given that they will treat the people and the place with full respect and honor.

In most Asian culture, outstanding and excellent people are compared to a dragon, while incapable people with no achievements are compared to other, disesteemed creatures, such as worms. Historically, the Chinese dragon was associated with the Emperor of the country and is commonly used as a symbol to represent imperial power granted to the person. Many people see the dragon as a god, and even build temples for it, light incense sticks, and offer sacrifices to it, because they believe that this creature professes mighty powers and should be given the highest status among all animals. Dragon is a popular motif that is mostly associated with the Chinese culture but can also be found in Western Cultures. Its most prevalent decoration in this certificate is the Chinese-style dragon that is commonly placed on both sides of the certificate. In order to cross this passage, you will be needing to sail westward and go through the empire of the dragon in the Western Pacific, where the majestic strength of the dragon is being celebrated by the Asian nations. This imaginary line extends between the North Pole and the South Pole, and arbitrarily demarcating each calendar day from the next, and the act of crossing the separating line made people feel like they were travelling time. As the name suggests, this passage works as a separating line for the two calendar dates, which is why it is also referred to as the “line of demarcation.” The International Date Line (IDL) was established in the year 1884 and is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at about 180 degrees east of the Greenwich Meridian.

The Domain of the Golden Dragon is type of highly coveted award granted to the crew members of the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy who crossed the International Date Line by military vessel.
