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A woman poses for a photo on a lantern-decorated bridge in a public park in Beijing on the first day of the New Year, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
BEIJING (AP) — From Jakarta to Seoul, from Bangkok to Beijing, people in Asia celebrated the start of the lunar year change and 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 enjoy food and drink. It is believed that each year of the zodiac bears the characteristics of its animal, and the Year of the Rabbit is considered one of calm and contemplation, a good time to form alliances and, for many, hopes of making money again.
This year is a special one for many on the Chinese mainland as it follows the lifting of draconian COVID-19 restrictions last month, allowing many aspects of normal life to resume.
The sudden opening led to a spike in new cases, though the worst seemed to be over at least in Beijing, and most people seemed content to live with some risk.
“Generally, life is returning to normal as most people are already healthy,” said Zhang Yiwen, who arrived with his wife and two children from the nearby city of Tangshan on Sunday morning to celebrate the Day. New Year’s Eve in the bustling tourist area of Qianmen. “I’m looking forward to seeing how the economy grows in the new year and what the country can achieve in the international market.”
Much of the celebration involves visiting temples and lighting incense sticks to please traditional Chinese deities and bring good luck for the coming months.
Such activities are often accompanied by lively fairs and temple markets offering handicrafts and seasonal delicacies, though Beijing erred on the side of caution and once again limited 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 walking across the bridges between paper lanterns emblazoned with the characters for “happiness.”
In addition to the largely Chinese-majority societies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, the festival is also celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and by overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
The open-air exhibitions offered many the opportunity to pose in their best festive attire, with red being the star color in China. In South Korea, people wrote their wishes for the coming year and posted them on a fence.
China’s anti-COVID-19 measures lasted so long that many young children were celebrating Lunar New Year normally for the first time.
“He has never experienced what a traditional new year is because three years ago he was too young and didn’t remember what a new year celebration was,” said Si Jia, pointing at his 7-year-old son in the crowd in Qianmen. “But this year I can show it to you here.”
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Chinese worshipers pray during Lunar New Year celebrations at a temple in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Worshipers wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pray at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. Each year is named after one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, in a cycle which is repeated, and the one that begins is the Year of the Rabbit. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Worshipers wearing face masks burn their first incense sticks as they pray at Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong on Saturday, January 21, 2023, to celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year. (AP Photo/Bertha Wang)
A woman uses her hand to place Lunar New Year decorations on a wall in a shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. The Year of the Rabbit officially begins on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Worshipers wearing face masks light their first incense sticks of the year to pray at Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong on Saturday, January 21, 2023, to celebrate the Lunar New Year and the start of the Year of the Rabbit. (AP Photo/Bertha Wang)
Worshipers wearing face masks offer prayers at the Hok Lay Kiong Temple in Bekasi, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. The Lunar New Year kicked off the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
A woman and a girl pose for a souvenir photo with rabbit-shaped floral decorations at a pedestrian street in Qianmen, on the first day of the Year of the Rabbit in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. People across China celebrated The change of the lunar year on Sunday with large family gatherings and massive visits to temples, after the government withdrew its strict “zero COVID” measures, in the first full-scale celebration since the pandemic began three years earlier. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Two women walk past Lunar New Year decorations in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. The turn of the year is celebrated on Jan. 22, kicking off the Year of the Rabbit, according to the lunar calendar. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
An ethnic Chinese Malay woman prays on the first day of the Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Visitors wearing face masks walk past the Qianmen pedestrian shopping street on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. People across China celebrated the turn of the year with family reunions and massive temple visits after the lifting of strict “zero COVID” measures. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
People in traditional hanbok attire look at a cell phone during their visit to celebrate Lunar New Year at Gyeongbok Palace, which was the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty and one of South Korea’s best-known landmarks, in Seoul, South Korea. South, on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Visitors light incense sticks as they pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Lama Temple in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Worshipers wearing face masks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus pray for blessings at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year 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, and the one that begins is the Year of the Rabbit. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A woman hangs a ribbon wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas on a fence during a visit to the Imjingak Pavilion near the border with the North to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Paju, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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