In Ukraine, all different sorts of astrology are very popular, particularly the Chinese Zodiac. Some of you may know that this year is the Chinese Year of the Tiger. Living in Odessa, it's difficult not to be reminded of this fact, as there are representations/images of tigers everywhere. There are tiger displays in the supermarket, stuffed animal tigers in every toy store, tiger calendars, tiger key chains. I have even seen dogs dressed in tiger-print track suits walking around Shevchenko Park.
Most notably, Yulia Tymoshenko, the Presidential candidate who was defeated in the last elections a few months ago, was presented with an albino tiger cub named "Tigriulia" in August, 2009. Accepting this gift, she said,
2010 is the Year of the Tiger so this gift is a talisman for the next year and I am dreaming to take it somewhere to political negotiations, especially when it grows a bit. I am convinced the Year of Tiger will be successful for Ukraine and for everyone of us.
Since the Year of the Tiger is so popular, all the souvenir markets and booths are full of tiger-themed memorabilia. I'm a pretty big fan of kitschy novelty items and had been looking for a tiger-themed souvenir for some time.
Then the other day I came upon this:
The first magnet says, There isn't any meat!!
The second says (basically), What about Kompot?
So now I have a magnet that represents the Year of the Tiger, includes a reference to an Eastern European fruit drink, and can also be read as pulling for a meat-free lifestyle.
YES!
SaM.
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