Worshippers wearing face masks burn their first joss sticks as they offer prayer at the Wong Tai Sin Temple, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Hong Kong, to celebrate the Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac.
(AP Photo/Bertha Wang)
AP Photo/Bertha Wang
Worshippers wearing face masks offer prayer at Hok Lay Kiong temple in Bekasi, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan 22, 2023. The Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac.
(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
A woman and a child pose a souvenir photo with a rabbit shaped floral decoration at a pedestrian shopping street at Qianmen on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. People across China rang in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with large family gatherings and crowds visiting temples after the government lifted its strict “zero-COVID” policy, marking the biggest festive celebration since the pandemic began three years ago.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
AP Photo/Andy Wong
Women walk through decorations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Chinese New Year falls on Jan. 22 this year, marking the start of the Year of Rabbit, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit
A Malaysian ethnic Chinese prays on the first day of Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. The Chinese Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 22, marking the start of the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese zodiac.
(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
Visitors wearing face masks tour at Qianmen pedestrian shopping street on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. People across China rang in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with large family gatherings and crowds visiting temples after the government lifted its strict “zero-COVID” policy, marking the biggest festive celebration since the pandemic began three years ago.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
AP Photo/Andy Wong
People wearing South Korean traditional “Hanbok” costume watch a smartphone as they visit to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty, and one of South Korea’s well known landmarks in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
Worshippers wear face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus and pray for blessing at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. Each year is named after one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle, with this year being the Year of the Rabbit.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying
A woman poses for a selfie on a bridge decorated with lanterns at a public park in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Worshippers wear face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus and pray at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. Each year is named after one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle, with this year being the Year of the Rabbit.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying
A woman uses her hand to smooth out decorations for the upcoming Lunar New Year that she put up on a wall at a tourist shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. The Year of the Rabbit officially begins on Sunday.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
BEIJING (AP) — From Jakarta to Seoul, Bangkok to Beijing, people in Asia have been celebrating the Lunar New Year marking the start of the Year of the Rabbit.
Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, a time to gather with family, reconnect with friends and indulge in food and drink. Each year in the Chinese zodiac is believed to bear the characteristics of its namesake animal, with the Year of the Rabbit considered one of calm and contemplation — a good time to form partnerships and, for many, hopefully start making money again.
The abrupt lifting of containment measures led to a surge of new cases, but the worst appears to be over in Beijing at least, and most seem content to live with a degree of risk.
“In general, life is returning to normal because most people are healthy now,” said Zhang Yiwen, who arrived Sunday morning with his wife and two sons from the nearby city of Tangshan to celebrate New Year’s Day in Beijing’s bustling Qianmen tourist area. “I look forward to seeing how the economy grows in the new year and what the country can accomplish in the International market.”
Much of the festivities involve visiting temples and burning sticks of incense to please traditional Chinese deities and bring good fortune for the months ahead.
Those are usually accompanied by bustling temple fairs and markets where traditional arts and crafts along with tasty seasonal delicacies are on offer, although Beijing has chosen to err on the side of caution by again curtailing such large-scale gatherings.
Despite the absence of its former temple fair, Beijing’s Taoran Ting Park with its frozen lake was popular with visitors strolling across bridges past paper lanterns painted with character for “happiness.”
Along with the overwhelmingly Chinese societies of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the festival is also celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam and among the large overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Outdoor exhibitions offered a chance for many to pose in their holiday best — red being the operative color in China. In South Korea, festivalgoers also wrote down their wishes for the new year and tied them to a fence.
China’s COVID-19 measures lasted so long that many young children celebrated Lunar New Year under normal conditions for the first time this year.
“He has never experienced what a traditional new year is like because three years ago, he was too young and he had no memory of what the new year celebration is,” said Si Jia, motioning to her 7-year-old son amid the crowd at Qianmen. “But this year, I can show him around here.”
