Photos: Lunar New Year celebrations
Women reach to touch a traditional Lion dance performer for good luck in front of the Ruins of St. Paul's during Lunar New Year celebrations in Macao on January 22.
Eduardo Leal/AFP/Getty Images

In pictures: Lunar New Year celebrations

Updated 0820 GMT (1620 HKT) January 23, 2023

Women reach to touch a traditional Lion dance performer for good luck in front of the Ruins of St. Paul's during Lunar New Year celebrations in Macao on January 22.
Eduardo Leal/AFP/Getty Images

After three years of pandemic-era travel restrictions, millions of families across the world are celebrating the Lunar New Year, widely considered the most important festival in the Chinese calendar.

The 15-day celebration — also known as the Spring Festival — this year begins on January 22, when the Year of the Rabbit will take over from the Year of the Tiger.

Traditional Lunar New Year festivities include the exchange of "red packets" of money, fireworks, lion dances and travel.

In mainland China, "Chunyun," the 40-day period surrounding the festival, sees many Chinese travel to their hometowns to be with their families — and is often called the world's largest human migration.

This year, after China's recent relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, more families are expected to be able to unite both within the country and overseas to ring in the new year.

In Monterey, California, a gunman opened fire at a dance studio killing 10 people and injuring 10 more as the city's large Asian American community was celebrating the Lunar New Year weekend.

Police officers guard the scene of a shooting that took place during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, in Monterey Park, California, US on January 22.
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People pray during Chinese New Year celebrations in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
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A child puts a red paper with new year wishes on the Wishing Tree at Lam Tsuen Village in Hong Kong on January 22.
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People devotees pray during Lunar New Year celebrations at Tay Kak Sie temple on January 22, in Semarang, Java, Indonesia.
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A calligrapher writes down wishes to visitors to mark the start of the Lunar New Year on January 22, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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People gather around to watch members of the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association perform the dragon dance at Victoria Market on January 22, in Melbourne, Australia.
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A girl reaches Chinese fortune tree during Lunar New Year celebrations on January 22, in Semarang, Java, Indonesia.
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A couple take a selfie in front of lanterns decoration at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Buddhist Temple on January 21, in Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia.
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Children wear masks as they look at a large banner with the character Fu or luck as they shop for decorations for Lunar New Year at a street vendor on January 21, in Beijing, China.
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Travelers wait for their trains at a railway station in Nanjing, China, during the Lunar New Year travel rush on Friday, January 20.
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People shop at Bangkok's Chinatown fresh market on January 20.
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Shoppers purchase flowers at a market in Hong Kong on January 20. The Lunar New Year is also known as the Spring Festival.
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A man writes messages on red paper in Hong Kong on Thursday, January 19.
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A dragon dance performance takes place in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, January 18.
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People visit a lantern show at a tourist attraction on Tuesday, January 17, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Yuncheng, China.
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Children wearing bunny ears write the Chinese character "Fu," meaning "good luck," on Monday, January 16 in Huzhou, China. The Year of the Rabbit starts on January 22.
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An artist colors a clay figurine at a workhop in north China's Hebei Province on January 16. As the Lunar New Year approaches, decorative items featuring rabbits, one of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals, are sweeping the streets.
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Residents take part in the Grebeg Sudiro festival ahead of Lunar New Year in Solo, Indonesia, on Sunday, January 15.
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Travelers wear protective gear at a railway station in Jinan, China, on January 15. There are growing concerns that this month's Lunar New Year will see the coronavirus sweep across the country as hundreds of thousands of people travel home.
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Participants perform during the Grebeg Sudiro festival in Solo, Indonesia, on January 15.
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People pose as rabbits while getting their picture taken in the Chinatown district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on January 15.
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A man cleans a statue at a temple in Surabaya, Indonesia, on January 15.
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A child looks at a giant rabbit lantern at a museum in Beijing on Saturday, January 14.
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Passengers walk through a railway station in Guangzhou, China, on Thursday, January 12, as they prepare to travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year.
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A child reaches for ornaments in a park ahead of Lunar New Year festivities in Beijing on Wednesday, January 11.
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