Millions of people across Asia and the world are welcoming the Lunar New Year which coincides with the first new moon of the lunar calendar.Widely considered to be the most important event in the year for many in Asia and some Asian communities worldwide, the Lunar New Year represents a fresh start for those who celebrate.Fireworks, music, fairs, lanterns, dragon and lion dancing filled streets across Asia as celebrations that typically last about 15 days began.Andres Martinex Casares/EPA-EFEIn Beijing, China, performers took to the stage to celebrate the start of the Year of the Snake.Florence Lo/ReutersStilt walkers joined a parade through a park in Beijing.Nyein Chan Naing/EPA-EFECandles were lit at a Chinese temple in Yangon, Myanmar.Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFPA woman prays at a shrine in Bangkok…Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFPWhile others pose for pictures to share with friends and family.Juni Jriswanto/AFPPrayers are offered at the Hong San Koo Tee temple in Surabaya in Indonesia.Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFPDancers perform the Lion Dance in Banda Aceh as people gather to watch.Hasnoor Hussain/ReutersIn Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur worshippers gather at the Taoist temple of Sin Sze Si Ya to celebrate and pray.Eloisa Lopez/ReutersDragon dancers make their way through the streets of Manila as firecrackers explode around them.Timur Matahari/AFPLarge candles are lit Darma Ramsi Temple to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.Adam Gray/ReutersDancers wearing lion costumes perform during a midnight Lunar New Year celebration in New York’s Chinatown.
Welcoming the Lunar New Year
