Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Year of the Tiger!!!

As with every year in the Chinese calendar (which clicked over yesterday, February 14), 2010 is symbolised by an animal; this year is the Year of the Tiger (虎年说虎).

The tiger is a special animal in many ways in Chinese culture, according to http://www.chinaculture.org/, the stripes on a tiger’s forehead are similar to the Chinese character for “King”, so they consider the tiger to be the natural born King of the wild. The tiger is considered to be a symbol of courage. Like the use of fireworks in Chinese traditional festivals, the image of a tiger is traditionally used to ward off evil spirits, particularly from children, who are often given tiger-shaped hats to wear. People born in the Year of the Tiger are believed to be born with charming personalities and a tendency to set high standards for themselves.

One particularly poignant saying I found on this site which is related to the tiger was an old Chinese proverb:

“Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs.”

In this year of royal tigers, tigers of courage and tigers who can shake off the demons of the past, I am personally looking forward to seeing the Richmond Football Club start claw its way back from the wilderness and take those first important steps toward being crowned – for an 11th time – King of the League.

– Ian Kenner.