Monday Cookies: Year of the Tiger.

Happy Year of the Tiger

I’m, oh, uh, a wee bit late with this one. But better late than never.

I started this cookie decorating mania eight years ago (!!!) with a cookie to commemorate the Year of the Sheep. Ever since I can remember, my mother has beamed with pride when mentioning the fact that her son, my older brother, was born in the year of the Dragon, and that two of her brothers were dragons, and that she was a perfect match with my late father because he was a Horse and she was a Tiger. For her the Chinese Zodiac is the one to live by, not that monthly stuff that everyone looks to, and it’s also probably the reason she gasped with horror when Wolf and I announced our engagement: he’s a Rooster, I’m a Sheep. Apparently, not an ideal pairing. But here we are, married eight and half years, now with a kid. Born in the year of the Ox. We’re quite a lot, aren’t we?

Normally, I complete my annual Chinese Zodiac animal cookie before celebrations start, but like so much else since giving birth, I’m a bit behind. A bit slower than usual. For a brief moment I contemplated skipping a design for this year, but I just knew that if I did that, I’d find a gazillion excuses to skip it next year and the year after and so on. I made a promise to myself to design all 12 animals, and with this one I mark the eighth, so, four more to go. After which I’ll start another 12-year cycle all over again.

There are many popular myths surrounding the origins of the Chinese Zodiac. I think the most popular version – and the one I was told when I was little – is that Buddha called all animals to join him before he left this world. Only 12 showed up, so to honor those that appeared, he named a lunar year after each in the order it arrived. Mr. Rat was first. He kind of cheated, really. He jumped on the back of Ms. Ox to cross the last river on the journey to Buddha’s, and jumped down in front. Clever little rodent. After Mr. Rat and Ms. Ox (Mimi is an Ox!), Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig joined the party.

Happy Year of the Tiger!

If you’re a tiger, you’re dynamic, competitive, adventurous, confident and the kind of person who gets things done. You’re also candid, sensitive, ambitious, but get bored easily. Tiger people stand up for what they believe in, even when they’re dead wrong. Gee, sounds like my mother. Oh, that’s right. She’s a Tiger.

Tigers are most compatible with Horses and Dogs. But not with Monkeys, Snakes or Boars.

If you’re a Tiger you were born in one of these years:
1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998.

Tagged as: Chinese Lunar New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Year of the Tiger