As we prepare to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese zodiac calendar, Chelsea Football Club has unveiled an illustration of the powerful creature which contains a number of elements brought together to convey a special deeper meaning to our supporters.
To better understand the meaning of these elements, here is an explanation of what each symbol means.
Overall concept
To celebrate the start of the Year of the Tiger, we have created an illustration of a Tiger’s head, utilising a traditional Chinese paper-cutting technique widely seen during the festival.
The illustration is meant to bring good luck for the Lunar New Year, convey the feelings of pride and confidence and channel the champion spirit of the tiger.
There are five elements in the illustration which hold added significance.
Forehead – The ‘王‘ character on the forehead of the tiger is one of the key symbols for the celebrations to mark the arrival of the the Year of the Tiger. This character means ‘The King’ or ‘The Champion’.
Nose – The pattern on the nose represents jade which is a symbol of good fortune for Chinese people.
Temples – The cloudy shapes on the temples of the tiger are known as ‘祥云‘, which means auspicious clouds in Chinese. They also represent good luck for the New Year.
Chin – The Lunar New Year lantern on the tiger’s chin is a key decoration for the festival and represents the hope for a prosperous new year.
Cheeks – Each cheek features a lion to represent Chelsea FC, linking the club to the grand festivities to mark the start of the Lunar New Year.
A limited number of special Lunar New Year-edition pre-match tops featuring the illustration will be available for sale on our official online store from Friday 21 January onwards.