2010: The Year of the Tiger

Dec. 27, 2009

2010: The Year of the Tiger
By Kristi Kates
There are plenty of predictions being thrown around for the year 2010. The year itself is the stuff of legend - it’s not merely the start of a new decade, but a landmark year for plenty of sci-fi novels, videogames, tv episodes, and movies, most famously, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the famed 2001 sequel film adapted from the Arthur C. Clarke novel 2010: Odyssey Two.
So does “the year twenty-ten” sound like a futuristic time? You bet - but we’re living in that future, a future that some think will end just a couple of years from now in the portentously spoken-of 2012. Luckily, 2010 is also heralded as The Year of the Tiger - a fearless fighting Chinese sign that is said to ward off the three main disasters of a household (thieves, fire, and ghosts), so perhaps we’ll get a head start against all of that potential pending disaster.

CHINESE TIGER
2010, The Year of the Tiger, is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac. As the first year of the 2010s decade, many predictions are that it’s set to be a “tumultuous” year, as many Tiger years are, although the Tiger itself offers courage. The additional Chinese element of 2010 - metal - will reportedly provide fortitude and steely determination to get through what may be a tough 12 months, but 2010’s erratic nature may still challenge the best among us, with an additional component of volatility pending on the world stage.
So, how to celebrate this landmark occasion? Well, the Chinese New Year celebration lasts far longer than the traditional Western New Year - 15 days to our two - but the celebratory elements for The Year of the Tiger are just like that of any other Chinese new year, beginning with friends and family and giving thanks, much like the American Thanksgiving holiday. Putting on one’s best clothes and cleaning out the house is another element of the Chinese new year; this is also a good time to throw away useless or outdated items prior to the new year’s celebration, although all trash should be taken out before the new year itself. Brooms and dustpans are also put away so that good luck cannot be swept away on new year’s day; and scissors and sewing needles are not used during the new year’s celebration, nor are inauspicious or negative words, which are said to also bring bad luck into the household if utilized during this time.

GOOD TIGER LUCK
Other customs of a Chinese new year include gathering together for the dinner meal and wishing each other well, leaving a little of the food behind as a symbol of prosperity; then staying up all evening to welcome the new year in the morning. “Li Shi” - red envelopes of money - are given to people to wish them good luck in the new year, and items like porcelain bowls and plates are carefully handled, as breaking them would be poor luck.
Chinese New Year also marks “Chunyun,” the time of what’s said to be the current largest human migration, when migrant workers in China and Chinese expatriats travel home to have those aforementioned Year of the Tiger family dinners; more interurban trips are said to be taken in China during this holiday than the total population of China.
And if you’re wondering what to wear, you can’t go wrong with red. Part of the legend of Chinese New Year revolves around a fight against a mythical beast called a Nien, which would arrive on the first day of the new year in a village to attack livestock and crops. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors, hoping that the Nien would take that food instead; but one year, the people saw that the Nien was scared away by a person wearing the color red. From that point on, they fought off the Nien by hanging red lanterns and scrolls on windows and doors, and using red firecrackers to keep the beast away. The Nien never returned to the village, but the red lanterns, scrolls, firecrackers, and clothing continue to this day, red being considered the color of joy, virtue, sincerity, loyalty, and prosperity.

A TIGER’S YEAR
The Year of the Tiger - which falls every 12 years, just like the other signs of the Chinese zodiac - has also spawned plenty of celebs, who have taken advantage of the tiger’s determination to make great strides in their chosen fields, whether in film (Tom Cruise, Ed Harris, Leonardo DiCaprio), writing (Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas, Beatrix Potter), comedy (Stan Laurel, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno), music (Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette), or even government (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Charles de Gaulle, Queen Elizabeth II.)
And 2010 looks to be one of the most accomplished Tiger years yet. Major specific events heading our way in 2010 include:
- The longest lasting annular solar eclipse of the 21st century on January 15
- The 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada February 12 through the 28th
- The American, Russian, and Japanese 2010 Censuses
- The completion of the International Space Station
- The completion of the Burj Dubai, the tallest man-made structure ever built
- Belgium’s taking over of the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Spain on July 1
- The deadline for beginning withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq on August 31st
- The naming of Istanbul, Turkey as the European Capital of Culture
- The kickoff of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity for a sustainable future
- And the retiring of the Space Shuttle program by NASA, which is set to be replaced by Project Constellation’s goals of traveling to the Space Station, the Moon, and Mars
Futuristic, indeed.