The Year of the Tiger (coincidentally my year as I was born in 1986), starts tomorrow evening. Taken back to when I was a child eating at Chinese restaurants and I found entertainment reading the zodiac symbol place mats over and over again, I never thought I would ever be in China actually celebrating a new years of any sort, moreover my year! I now understand that the year you are born is represented by one animal only, and for me that is the Tiger. This never occurred to me when I was younger and week after week would spend an hour trying to find my year, my animal, and my animal's description. 
Tigers are....
"Physically powerful, gracious, independent and brave, they are extremely bold animals. They are friendly and loving but can also selfish and short tempered. Tigers seek attention and power; frequently they are envious in a relation. Tigers live dangerously which often leads to trouble. They are intolerant, take risks and are always searching for excitement. Tigers are also instilled with a good dose of courage."
....hmmm...I'm going to have to think about that one!
Before New Years eve, practically everyone in China travels home to their families. Planes, trains, and automobiles, you name it, are full! Once rejoined with your family, the Chinese New Years is celebrated by eating meal after meal over three days. All of the meals are composed of dishes that have specific symbolic significance. For instance...
-"Noodles represent a long life; an old superstition says that it's bad luck to cut them."
- "Clams because of their resemblance to bouillon."
- "Tangerines and oranges are passed out freely during Chinese New Year as the words for tangerine and orange sound like luck and wealth."
-"Fish also play a large role in festive celebrations as the word for fish, "Yu," sounds like the words both for wish and abundance."
So if you are in China eat your noodles and clams!
Happy New Year!
