THE YEAR OF THE TIGER 2010

A Happy Chinese New Year to You All

 

Just what is Chinese New Year? There's actually a lot more to it than lion dances and firecrackers, although these two pieces of tradition are integral and more visible, Chinese New Year to China is like Christmas to the West. In essence, Chinese New Year is spending time with family, gift giving and, the all important, food-fest.

While Americans, if  lucky may get Christmas Eve day and Christmas Day off, and Europeans may take a whole week holiday, Chinese New Year festivities officially last for fifteen days. Businesses and factories usually only take about one week off.

Characteristics of those born in the year of the tiger are -

• short tempered
• adventurous
• suspicious
• emotional
• sensitive
• risk takers

 

Famous Tigers:

Sun Yat Sen, Queen Elizabeth II, Emily Dickinson, Isadora Duncan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe, Marco Polo, Beatrix Potter, Karl Marx, Ludwig van Beethoven

 

 

 

        Dragons and Fireworks feature heavily in the celebrations.

Dragons are mythical creatures.  But it is all right to believe in them, just as long as you don’t go out looking for them. It’s fun to dream about dragons because of all the amazing powers attributed to them!

Oriental dragons are associated with water.  They live underwater and in burrows inside of mountains. Some oriental dragons are born as fish. Oriental dragons spit water out of their mouths and are good, unlike their western counterparts, which are evil and breathe fire. They enjoy eating roasted swallows. They are nocturnal, so they only come out at night.  They represent power and excellence, valour, boldness, heroism, perseverance, nobility and divinity.  Dragons also represent sin in the Christian religion, and evil and destruction in old legends.

fireworks light up the sky with colourful lights on the Chinese New Year. Fireworks are burned to symbolise the end of the old year and welcome the new year. Fireworks represent many customs and traditions in China. .

Chinese Symbol for Happy New Year

新年快樂