Chinese New Year 2010 - The Year of the Tiger

How interesting that the Chinese New Year occurs this year on Valentine’s Day! Another interesting fact is that in China, the New Year is a celebration closer to Christmas than a western celebration of New Year’s. It is all about family, the giving of gifts, and the preparation of food to share.

Chinese New Year’s festivities officially last for fifteen days, with businesses closing for approximately one week. One New Year’s eve, families gather to eat, spend time together, and stay up to see the New Year in. It is the custom to eat jiao zi (a form of dumplings) at midnight. The crescent shape of the dumplings is similar to the shape of ancient money, and represents wealth coming into the New Year. It is also the custom to set off firecrackers at midnight – the original intent being to scare away demons.

On New Year’s Day the elders in the family present the children in the family with gifts of money, placed in red envelopes that are decorated with New Year’s wishes. And … no one cleans! This is seen to be very bad luck, as good fortune that has come in might be swept out the door.

During the coming days, prayers to the ancestors are added to the prayers for the gods, on days three and four son’s-in-law pay respect to their in-law families. On day five everyone stays home to welcome the God of Wealth. This is not a day for visiting – this is to be done on days six through ten, when families and friends are visited. On day seven it is traditional to eat noodles to ensure a long life (this is also a day when farmers are honored). On days ten to twelve family and friends are invited over for dinner. This is followed by simple eating on day thirteen, and the preparation for the Lantern Festival on day fourteen.

Day fifteen (the night of the first full moon) is when the Lantern Festival is celebrated. Sticky rice balls are served, games are played, and lanterns are lit.

Each year on the Chinese calendar has two aspects – (1) Element, and (2) Zodiac animal sign. The five Chinese Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. The twelve animal Zodiac signs are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Each element carries its own qualities, each animal carriers its qualities. Put together, we have the qualities that carry through each calendar year.

The element for the year 2010 (4708 in the Chinese calendar) is metal. The quality that metal carries is that of strength, sharpness and speed of thought. Metal has a sense of objectiveness to it, and brings with it a sense of persistent effort to achieve goals. Stubbornness and inflexibility are also part and parcel of the element of metal.

Qualities that the Tiger brings to the table are balance, the ability to think on your feet, the need to protect those around them, and an air of authority that brings them respect. The shadow side to these qualities is that they can be both dependable and irresponsible, without fear, and soft and loving. The Tiger also brings the quality of moodiness to the table if everyone does not follow their lead (they know best, after all!).

The Year of the Tiger is known to carry the quality of upheaval – on personal as well as community and global levels. Change is going to happen in a Tiger year – whether we think that we want it or not. This is certainly showing on personal, local, national and global levels, from our economic structure to weather induced devastation such as Haiti. Tension, drama, unpredictability – all keywords for the Year of the Tiger.

What characteristics do we need to develop to take control of a year that is filled with change? We need to develop our personalities so that we can get along easily with the people around us. Yes – we may need to be a bit “charming”! We also need to be able to recover quickly from any change, whether the change is expected or not.

We have to be able to bring our “A” game, to be willing to act in a competitive manner to achieve our goals. We need to be protective of our goals, our family and our friends. This is not a year to take a “wait and see” attitude.

We need to be able to stay firmly focused in the present, so that we can make note of others actions, and discern their agenda. There will be unpredictable things coming from all corners this year – we have to be able to change direction on a dime to move our environment in the direction that we need it to go.

Once we have established ourselves, we need to not allow our stubborn nature to shoot us in the foot! We need to be able to bring balance, and to be able to know when to compromise. This is a year in which we need to be able to depend on our ability to think things through, and see all sides of any issue.

The coming year will be one of change, of actively pursuing out goals, and setting down a new foundation for living. Look to see where the change is happening in your life, pay attention to it, do not be afraid to take action. Remember – our readers are available 24/7 to help you gain clarity on your issues, set goals, and map out actions to achieve those goals.

Chinese New Year 2010 - The Year of the Tiger

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