A roaring celebration for the Year of the Tiger (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

Xian nian kuai le! Gung hay fat choy! Happy New Year! The first time our family celebrated Chinese New Year was 2010 when we were new parents. That was the Year of the Tiger—the Gold Tiger. This year is the Year of the Water Tiger. It feels pretty special to be celebrating the Year of the Tiger again.

It’s astonishing the difference between celebrating with a 2-year-old vs. celebrating with a 14-year-old. In the next Year of the Tiger, that same child will be 26.

~2~

Every year since 2015, which was the Year of the Goat, my friend Katie has made us an animal cake to celebrate Chinese New Year. Last year, she surprised us and arrived at our house with an ox cake for her godson, who is an ox.

This year, she offered to bring us a tiger cake. We had planned to celebrate outside together, but it was so chilly that we moved the party indoors.

We haven’t entertained indoors since Chinese New Year 2020, and it felt special to have Katie, her youngest son, her mother, and her husband—who happens to be a Tiger—with us.

The cake was absolutely incredible. I will never get over her talent and creativity for these cakes.

~3~

As if the outside of the cake wasn’t impressive enough, Katie even made the cake with tiger-striped batter!

I know. It’s hard to believe.

But she’s a Rabbit, and they’re known for being kind and peaceful and artistic. So, there you go.

And it was absolutely delicious. I’m always in awe of cakes that are both beautiful and tasty.

~4~

We also ate Chinese food as part of our celebration, but I was so busy photographing the Tiger cake that I didn’t take any pictures of Chinese food. There were dumplings for wealth and lo mein noodles for a long life and all our other favorites. My Chinese New Year tradition is to order way too much Chinese food, and I stayed true to that.

~5~

Every year we hang our Chinese lanterns, a Chinese zodiac banner, and other fun decorations, but I try to add something new when I can.

Our new inflatable tiger arrived in the mail on Monday, and—when I maybe should have been cooking dinner—I blew the tiger up and introduced it to my sons.

They didn’t seem to be surprised that we had a new inflatable tiger. But then they know that their mother is the kind of person who would order an inflatable tiger for the Year of the Tiger.

~6~

Katie’s mother thoughtfully brought us a basket of mandarin oranges, apples, candies, and treats she found at the Chinese market—along with red envelopes for our boys.

We have been eating our way through the wonders inside the basket, in between slices of tiger cake and bowls of Frosted Flakes.

The Year of the Tiger is pretty sweet.

~7~

A couple of mornings this week, I played the song, “Eye of the Tiger,” as we were trying to get out the door to the school bus. It’s such a great song for mornings, even for people like me who don’t think mornings should involve music or really even getting out of bed. I’m grateful to have such a great tiger-themed song to start off our day.

Next year, when it’s the Year of the Rabbit, I’m not sure “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” or “Little Bunny Foo Foo” will get us moving in the same way.

And you can bet I’m already starting to think about what I might pick up for 2023 at this year’s post-Easter clearance sales.

~If you want to celebrate the Year of the Tiger~

It’s not too late to celebrate! The Year of the Tiger lasts all year, of course, but in China, they celebrate the New Year for 15 days. You have plenty of time to order or make some Chinese food (these are the pork dumplings I am hoping to make this year), wear red, or give red envelopes of money (or other treats) to the children in your life.

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