Hello, my lovely people. I’m sure you’re aware that the big festivities honoring the Lunar New Year occur from today, February 1st, until Wednesday, February 15th. We start to celebrate the heralding of spring, dear friends. Wow, the moon, you and me, spring and our year animal.
If you want to know more about Chinese New Year and how the festival is observed on the traditional Chinese calendar, please visit this site.
Today, The Tiger gets the honor passed down from the Ox.
Based on the folk tale known as the Great Race, twelve animals raced to reach the Jade Emperor, one of the most important gods in Chinese tradition. And so, each year is named in the order those animals finished the race.
At the start of the race, all eyes were on the Wild Boar. It took off at the speed of lightning and soon was out of sight. Second in speed to the Wild Boar, was the strong and determined Ox. A sure second, everyone thought. But you know how anything could happen in a race, right? It’s not over ’til it’s over. Wait for it.
The Rat is crowned the winner of that race.
Honing virtues of intelligence, craftiness, and optimism– but with negative ones of rudeness, ruthlessness, and nervousness– the Rat hitched a ride on the Ox’s back and jumped off just in time at the finish line. And catching his breath at the last minute, the Ox saw the stowaway a second too late and was honorably forced to settle for second place.
As for the Wild Boar, well, it was the fastest for sure, but it went a totally different way. Lost. He went down in history as the last one to complete the race (*see below).
A fantastic thing from today until January 21st, 2023, we celebrate my animal– The Tiger. As such, I will honor it by wearing orange as often as I can.
The zodiac tells me there are positive and negative characteristics associated with each animal. People born in each animal’s year may embody ‘some’ of those qualities.
Tiger
As far as I know, the Tigers’ positive qualities include being kind, adventurous, and enthusiastic. While the negative attributes might consist of aggressiveness, being short-tempered, and anxiety. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. And if you’d never known a Tiger before, now you do.
What’s your year animal? Don’t know? Find your zodiac sign in the link.
Me in my orange sweater. Happy Chinese New Year of the Tiger. 
View of the morning sky through my new sunglasses: orange.
Photo: Image by Jim Olah from Pixabay
Thanks for reading. Be on the lookout for amazing things this year as this Tiger *smile*
continues to wish you miracles.
Oh, and please don’t tease those *Wild Boars too much. One of my young men was born in the year of the Boar and he embodies it pretty closely. But he has the purest soul. You’d do well with someone like him in your team *wink*
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Monkey here! White and baby blue. Happy Lunar New Year to you!!
Really, Annette? I love Monkeys.
I have one Wild Boar and one Monkey. Bless you, my sweet. Here’s looking at you. xo 🐵🐯🐒🐒🐒🐗 💜
Happy Year of the Tiger, Selma.
A few days late– forgive, Goff. Thanks for reading. I appreciate the visit so much. Yes, happy new year to you as well. xoxo
No problem. Have a wonderful day, Selma.
I am also a Tiger!
Happy Lunar New Year to you as well!
Wow. I love it. Tigers unite! Yay. Happy lunar new year, Dear friend. xoxo.
Yeah! Happy your year! Orange is a great colour for you. I’m a Gold (Metal) Dog, I just found out (I knew that I was Dog + Taurus = bulldog, just now which kind). And my mom is a Fire Dog. My father is a Rooster, and my sister is a Snake. And my amore is Christmas-born Dragon. 🙂 Happy tigering!!
I feel like a kitty these first days in February… I guess I will need to do some big time growing to get to be a good tiger. haha. I want to do my tigering this year. And you a Dog? We could be friends, I guess. There’s a lovely true story about a dog, Hachiko, that waited for her owner every single day at the train station. She waited even after he died: The Story of Hachiko. The lovely statue in Shibuya pays homage to that lovely story. Do you know the story? I think you’d love it.
The dog accompanied his owner to the station every morning and returned for him everyday in the late afternoon. They were inseparable. Until one day, the poor man died at work and never walked through that statiion ever again. Hachiko still waited. Lovely story. Here, let me introduce you: https://matcha-jp.com/en/5563
Thanks for reading and commenting. xoxo
Oh Selma, I know this story. I watched the film with Richard Gere and cried so much. Nothing gets to me like dogs can. Thank you for the link, I haven’t seen this statue yet.
Happy Lunar New Year Selma! I am a dog 🙂
A dog. Sweet. Happy Lunar New Year 2022
“Gong hei fat choy”
(恭喜发财)
Wishing you happiness
and
prosperity 💥 🐕 🐅 👏
Gong hei fat choy to you as well. 💖🐅
A dog, my sweet? How charming. I just shared the story of Hachiko, the loyal dog whose statue is erected here in Japan, with a friend. Let me introduce you to Hachiko too.
https://matcha-jp.com/en/5563
Thanks for the comment, Daphny. Hope you’re doing well, allergies and all. Stay sweet.
I know Hachiko, I’ve shed tons of tears watching the movie but I’d definitely go ahead and read it again. 🤗
Doing my best to stay fit and fine. Hope you are well too 🤗💖
Tiger here too! Happy year of the tiger:)
Sweet, D.L. Glad to be in great company.
Happy Lunar New Year
2022
“Gong hei fat choy”
(恭喜发财)
Wishing you happiness
and
prosperity 💥 🐉 🐅 👏
So loved this fun little read! I did not know the origins of the animals-by-place race, but I love it! I am a horse myself. 🙂
A 🐎. How charming. Yes, the story of the race is funny. Glad you enjoyed it, Jaya.
Happy Lunar New Year
2022
“Gong hei fat choy”
(恭喜发财)
Wishing you happiness
and
prosperity 💥 🐎 🐅 👏
I’m an ox – steadfast and reliable, but a bit dull. 🙂
An 🐂Sweet. An Ox is never dull.
Happy Lunar New Year
2022, dear Kate.
“Gong hei fat choy”
(恭喜发财)
Wishing you happiness
and
prosperity 💥 🐂 🐅 👏 Yay!
Thank you Selma, I wish you happiness too! <3
My kids have just been learning about Chinese New Year Selma: lovely to hear the story behind it! 😊
Oh, gosh, isn’t it just so precious when we too learn along with our babies? Love it when this happens. Happy Chinese New Year, my lovely. Here’s wishing you all prosperity to refill your bucket of gifts. You’re amazing. I see you everywhere. Sometimes, even in my dreams… lovely, you. Stay sweet. xoxo
I love Chinese NY and thanks for the history.. Love you in your orange sweater Selma and I’m feeling a bit of both characteristics of the tiger today.. haha🤣🥰
You’re sweet for reading, Cindy. And the comments are always an added pleasure. The orange sweater, yeah! I’ll wear more orange this year.
And you, a tiger. How sweeeeet. I was telling another friend that this past week I felt like a kitten. Indeed I did. Sorry this response is so late. I don’t want this year to be one of excuses. It won’t. I just need to find a way of make myself whole: cup runneth over kind of thing, so that I can give the gifts I have to give. Thanks for commenting, my darling lady. I owe you…
Oh it was a joy and love you are a kitten in Orange and we can purr and roar together and take turns.
It’s all good .. we each have our own timing. Blessings and smiles, ours and roars 💕🙏🙌
Tigers are beautiful…and wild! Happy new year, Selma 🙂
Tigers ARE BEAUTIFUL and wild. But this far in the new year, I’m feeling like a kitten. hehe. Oh well, I need to grow into my wild-ness. Haha, Oh, wait, that should be a roar, right? I’ll work on that. I so appreciate your comment, Lynn. Blessings. Happy new year. xoxo
Happy year to you selma.lovely post.
Raj, my sweet. Roooaaar, Meeooowee! Um, I have to work on my roar and be a good tiger this year. haha. Thanks for the comment. Stay sweet. xoxo
Thank you so much 🌷 but I can understand Frist line .!
I can’t understand that’s words.
A Tiger says Roar. A kitten says Meow. My roar sounds like meow this week. Haha. Just a joke.
Yes, now I understood your words .Tiger & kitten. So sweet sound. Me T ! Thank you so much.
Lovely post dear 🌷
xoxo 💋
xoxo 😘
Happy New Year, Selma 💕
Jane, darling. Thanks. Happy Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger. May all good things come to you this year. Thanks for the comment, my sweet. xoxo
You are welcome dear Selma 🤗💕 xoxo
I was not aware of the story origin behind the naming of the yearly celebrations. Thank you so much for sharing this interesting post. 🐯
Michele, my sweet– my pleasure, entirely. So glad I could contribute something to you today. The story is funny: that race. Yes, the rat starts the 12-year cycle. Glad you found this one interesting. Stay sweet. I wish you miracles.
A wonderful contribution to the day. Thank you, Selma, for the super sweet comment. No one has ever wished me miracles. What a beautiful message. 🙏🏻May your kindness return to you tenfold. 💖
🪃 and to you too. 💕
🤗
I know my animal sign… but not off the top of my head. My sun sign is also an animal. Which is odd that my sun sign is also a water sign.
Thanks for the history on the order of the animals. 🙂
Jules, the pleasure and the honor is entirely mine, my friend. The funny story of the order the animals crossed the finish line is adorable. The rat starts the 12-year cycle. All the best to you this year, my friend. Stay sweet. xoxo
Your story reminds me of the fable of the Rabbit in the Moon…
“The Moon rabbit or Moon hare is a mythical figure in Far Eastern folklore who lives on the Moon, based on pareidolia interpretations that identify the dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare. The folklore originated in China and then spread to other Asian cultures. “from:” Wiki”
So now I always see the Rabbit – though there are many other stories about the ‘spots’ on the moon besides the face in the moon smiling at us in the northern hemisphere. 🙂 🐇🌚
Best to you this day that becins at freezing and has tiny little white flakss falling from the sky.
So, Jules, you see the rabbit too? I just love that.
Before coming to raise my babies here in Japan I only knew of The Sandman who has an iron nest on the Moon. His children stay in that nest while he goes around sprinkling dust on sleepless children’s eyes. Kinda sinister, me thinks.
Anyway, I liked the rabbit story better. That’s the one I told my kids.
Every September, with the moon coming the closest to earth, we celebrate the rabbit in that folklore. Called Tsukimi Festival. It’s a great Autumn celebration usually observed with family.
Our kids have left the nest but we still keep the holiday. Though I think the moon looks close every full moon.
Thanks for the lovely comment. I always appreciate them. I learn so much from you 💕
If you look up full moon stories there are quite a few. I just happen to like bunnies and frogs… a minor (OK major collection) – both animals are lucky. I did a whole month once featuring traveling with kearu (the frog).
I thought I put in a reply… maybe I forgot to send it. I enjoy several animal stories about what can be seen in the craters of the moon too. 🙂
I appreciate you, kind Jules. Yes, the moon shadows. I like the rabbit best of all. Be well. Stay sweet. 💕 👏 🥛 🍪 😉
It is good to see different points of view. Like all the different moon stories 🙂
Glad you got at least one reply… about the moon stories. I think I did read about the festival too. That must be a special time.
Though I always think a rabbit is luckiest when its got all four paws. 😉
Four. Of course 😉. I like bunnies too. 💗
One of my children actually knew a ‘local’ family that raised rabbits (not sure where they got them from to begin with) for food!
But then one year when my hubby traveled for work to Japan… he thought he might have eaten snake. One eats what is available. And it doesn’t really matter what country one lives in. 🙂
Snake in Japan? Hmm. I think it might have been eel.
Hope your kids weren’t too traumatized by the family raising rabbits. Though, perhaps we might see that as raising hens or any animals that we sapiens consume. But rabbits are different, right. Dunno.
Be well, Jules. xoxo.
At the time the eldest wasn’t a kiddo anymore. And understood that food is raised to be eaten.
There are foods that are just different. Early Americans ate whatever protiens they could find, raccon, bear, rabbit, any number of fowl… location, location, location… 😉
Stay warm, Selma 🙂
I hadn’t heard about the story of the Great Race! My sign is a rabbit! Happy New Year, I’m excited to see what it brings! ❣️
Oh, little rabbit. Hello. I don’t remember where the rabbit fits, but I know I love it regardless. Glad you enjoyed the story of the Great Race. It’s funny indeed (to me). I predict it will be a great year for you, so mark my words. I wish you miracles. xoxo