2010 (and up to now) has been the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese calendar.

However, ask anyone at Disney head-office and they will probably tell you it’s the “Year of the Tigger.”

I can’t tell you how many Chinese Tigger’s I’ve seen around Hong Kong this past year.  My kids still have their soft-toy Tiggers issued with a McDonald’s Happy Meal last Chinese New Year.

It was the same when we celebrated the Year of the Rat and Mickey and Minnie Mouse taking the honours here in Asia.

However, with the next Lunar Year being the Year of the Rabbit, so far it seems as if the character-of-choice for the next Chinese New Year will be non-Disney.

Here in my my neck of the woods statues of Miffy have been springing up all over Whampoa Garden.

It is interesting to note that, while Miffy is hugely popular here in Asia, it is actually a Dutch invention that is called “konijntje” meaning “little rabbit” in the land of tulips and girls-in-glass-fronted-windows.

This is what Whampoa Garden looks like: