On Jan. 29, Asian American communities around the U.S. will ring in the Year of the Snake with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks and other festivities. In many Asian countries, it is a festival that is celebrated for several days. In diaspora communities, particularly in cultural enclaves, Lunar New Year is visibly and joyfully celebrated.

In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Snake. Different countries across Asia celebrate the new year in many ways and may follow a different zodiac.

The Lunar New Year — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated in several Asian countries. In Taiwan, this year, people have been drawn to the White Snake Temple to pay their respects. In Indonesia, it is celebrated with dragon puppets and drum displays. It is also widely observed by diaspora communities around the world.

It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. Because the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the dates of the holiday vary slightly each year, falling between late January and mid-February.

Each year honors an animal based on the Chinese zodiac. The circle of 12........

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