Myanmar: People watching a traditional dragon and lion dance along a street in the Chinatown area of Yangon. — AFP
With fireworks, feasts and red envelopes stuffed with cash for the kids, numerous Asian nations and overseas communities have welcomed the Lunar New Year.
It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. The dates of the holiday vary slightly each year, falling between late January and mid-February as it is based on the cycles of the moon,
Taiwan, China and other areas saw highways clogged and flights fully booked as residents travelled home to visit family or took the approximately one-week holiday as an opportunity to vacation abroad.
Firing bottle rockets and other fireworks is a traditional way of welcoming the new year and seeing off any lingering bad memories. Children are given red envelopes stuffed with cash as a show of affection and to help them get a leg-up in the coming months.
Long lines of cars congested South Korean highways on Saturday as millions of people began leaving the densely populated Seoul capital region to visit relatives across the country for the Lunar New Year’s holiday.
Hong Kong: Participants taking part in the International Lunar New Year Parade in the city. — AFP
Royal palaces and other tourist sites were also packed with visitors wearing the country’s colourful traditional “hanbok” flowing robes.
Groups of ageing North Korean refugees from the 1950-53 civil war, which remains unresolved, bowed northward during traditional family rituals held in the Southern border town of Paju.
Vietnam also celebrated the Lunar New Year, known there as Tet.
Parades and commemorations are also being held in cities with large Asian communities overseas, particularly in New York and San Francisco.
China: Dragon dancers performing at a park in Beijing. — AFP
A riot of scarlet lanterns hung over the red-clothed crowds offering candles as they murmured prayers at a traditional temple in Bangkok to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Millions of Thai-Chinese marked the occasion with parties, family meals and visits to many of the shrines dotted around Chinatown.
The old streets in the capital’s downtown came alive on Saturday afternoon, with thousands of curious tourists and happy devotees such as Watcharin Parichatwuttikoon, 70, enjoying the occasion.
“It’s very sacred. I have attended since I was young,” he said outside Wat Mongkorn, among the city’s largest.
“I like to make merits, wash away bad deeds. Today, it’s refreshing because it’s raining.”
Vietnam: A man holding up a dragon decoration in a traditional Lunar New Year market in Hanoi. — AP
There is a long history of Chinese migration to Thailand, with Thai-Chinese people accounting for roughly 10% of the population – including some of the kingdom’s most prominent business families.
Temple-goers found a moment for quiet reflection as they lit candles and made traditional offerings in Wat Mongkorn – sometimes referred to as the “Dragon Temple” – before returning to the bustle outside.
While many in downtown Bangkok were from the kingdom, the celebrations are a busy and highly lucrative time for tourism in Thailand as well.
Between Jan 1 and Feb 8 Thailand welcomed more than 730,000 Chinese visitors, a Thai government spokesperson told local media on Saturday.
Thailand: People giving offerings and praying at Wat Mangkon temple in Chinatown in Bangkok. — AFP
It follows last month’s visa waiver agreement between Bangkok and Beijing, which Thai officials hope will boost the kingdom’s vital tourism sector, which is struggling to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Chinatown, tourists were perusing the many stalls that had set out vibrant merchandise, with vendors often dressed in red cheongsams.
Among those visiting was American-Chinese tourist Cassandra Branson, 22, who had travelled from Beijing.
“I wanted to come to Chinatown during Chinese New Year because it feels like home,” she said, saying she usually celebrated in New York.
“I spend it with family at home and it’s like more quiet, less buzzing. It’s very festive here,” she said. “It’s a lot more lively.” — Agencies
