Lunar New Year: Family, food and colour as millions celebrate Year of the Snake

BBC
·1 min read

  • The Year of the Snake is here - and millions across Asia and the world are welcoming it, with family, friends, prayers and plenty of food

  • The Lunar New Year, which coincides with the first new moon of the lunar calendar, is a 15-day festival that falls between 29 January and 4 February

  • Chinese communities, in China and elsewhere, largely consider it to be the most important festivaI of the year

  • It's also celebrated in a big way in the Koreas, Vietnam, Thailand and other parts of Asia

  • The first two days of the new year is when families and friends gather for a feast, gifts in tow - and cash-filled red envelopes are a common sight

  • Read on to find out how to wish people luck and happiness depending on where you are - and also what dishes to look out for!

Lunar New Year: Family, food and colour as millions celebrate Year of the Snake

Latest Stories

  • 30 photos show how people are celebrating the 2025 Lunar New Year around the world

    From public parades to traditional dances, here's how countries around the world are celebrating the Year of the Snake.

  • A 2025 guide to Lunar New Year as we slither into the Year of the Snake

    When is Lunar New Year in 2025? And why do people wear red as part of the celebrations? Answers to these questions and more as we say goodbye to the Dragon and enter the Year of the Snake.

  • Trump team details two phases of tariff threats on Canada

    The U.S. has revealed a two-stage tariff plan in which Canada and Mexico will face initial trade threats within days, then again face broader threats this spring.In summary, it's: maybe tariffs now, and maybe more tariffs later.The details emerged Wednesday at the U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for the person chosen to lead President Donald Trump's tariff policy, Howard Lutnick.It occurred as Canadian officials engaged in frantic last-ditch efforts to dissuade U.S. officials from imposing tari

  • Trump plans to sign the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration's first piece of legislation

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday will sign the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration's first piece of legislation. It mandates the detention and potential deportation of people in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft and violent crimes before they've actually been convicted.

  • ‘Am I Allowed?’: Critics Aren’t Laughing At Trump’s Latest ‘Looneytunes’ Joke

    Critics condemned the president’s comments to House Republicans.

  • Jim Acosta Shares Trump's Spiteful Reaction To His CNN Exit With 1 Line Of Mockery

    The president responded to reports of Acosta's departure from CNN by calling the journalist a "sleazebag" and "major loser."

  • Mexican President Takes Fight Over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to Google

    Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rebuked Google’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico on Google Maps in a Wednesday press conference. After President Donald Trump issued an executive order changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in all government references, Sheinbaum called into question the legality of the move and said she intends to write a letter to Google challenging the decision. “By the way, we are also going to ask for ‘América Mexicana’ to appear on the map. When you wr

  • Trump administration revokes deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that the Trump administration has revoked a decision that would have protected roughly 600,000 people from Venezuela from deportation.

  • Stephen Miller Stuns Jake Tapper in Trainwreck CNN Interview

    A CNN interview took an odd turn when a senior White House adviser called out federal employees who voted for Kamala Harris in the last election. The interview between CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, was full of back-and-forth exchanges between the pair. In one tense moment, Miller steered his Tuesday interview on The Lead away from the federal funding freeze to talk about government employees’ political leanings.

  • People Have A Whooole Lot To Say About Melania Trump's Official White House Portrait

    For me, it's giving "inventor of Post-Its."

  • Opinion - The real reason Russia invaded Ukraine

    Since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014, one Russian phrase has haunted me. It translates to “They [Ukrainians] crucified a little boy wearing nothing but his underwear.” It sounds grotesque, like something from a macabre fairytale. And it never happened, of course. But for many people in Russia, it might as well have.…

  • Fox Host Delivers Reality Check About Trump’s Rough Start

    Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov criticized the lack of competent leadership shown by the White House amid its confusing, legally murky actions, saying the rollout of Donald Trump’s agenda has been “complete chaos” and “is not being managed in any sort of orderly fashion at all.” On Wednesday’s broadcast of The Five, Tarlov reacted to the whiplash-inducing events over the last few days, which saw the administration earlier Wednesday ultimately reverse course by rescinding its order freezing feder

  • Justin Trudeau's teenage son draws mixed reviews on debut R&B track as 'Xav' kicks off music career: 'Grown men out here hating'

    The Canadian prime minister's 17-year-old son teased his debut track on Instagram, with the full song set to be released next month

  • MAGA Piles on Joy Behar for ‘Sexist’ Hit on Karoline Leavitt

    Joy Behar moved her name a few notches higher on MAGA’s hit list Wednesday when The View host accused Donald Trump of hiring people on their looks—this time when it comes to new White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “She’s probably been put in there because according to Donald Trump, she’s a 10—you know that’s what it is,” Behar said on The View. The MAGA crowd leapt on the moment with posts to social media, slamming Behar for being “jealous” or “idiotic.” Leavitt, 27, is the youngest ev

  • Trump’s Favorite Cardinal Slams JD Vance Over ‘Scurrilous’ and ‘Inaccurate’ Immigration Insults

    The Catholic bishop who gave the invocation at President Donald Trump’s inauguration has slammed Vice President JD Vance for his “scurrilous,” “very nasty” and “inaccurate” claims the church is pro-immigrant because it helps its bottom line. “You want to come look at our audits, which are scrupulously done? You think we MAKE money caring for the immigrants?” the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, said Tuesday during his SiriusXM show Conversation with Cardinal Dolan. He also admitte

  • ICE Barbie: Kristi Noem Gets Dolled Up for Deportation Raid Photo-Op

    Kristi Noem glammed up for a photo-op while she tagged along on the first major deportation raids in New York City since Donald Trump assumed office. Noem, the former South Dakota governor who Trump tapped to be his homeland security secretary, was confirmed and sworn in three days ago—already, she’s got her first set of action shots done. In photos posted to X by Noem and DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Noem donned a bullet-proof vest and a cap with a police crest—while still looking

  • Trump Border Czar Rages About Migrants Being Too ‘Educated’ About Rights in ICE Round-Ups

    Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, complained that immigrants in sanctuary cities are “very difficult” to arrest because they are “educated” about their rights when it comes to ICE raids. Homan, who previously led ICE as its acting director, has made the rounds on media while the president’s effort to round up undocumented immigrants and deport them en masse got underway in major cities such as Chicago and New York since the weekend. In a Monday appearance on CNN, he complained that “sanct

  • Eagles Fan Tyler Sabapathy Dies After Horrific Accident While Celebrating Team's Super Bowl Berth

    "There are no words that can make sense of it," Temple University said after the student's death from a postgame celebration.

  • Jimmy Kimmel Trolls Trump By Revealing Melania's 'Happiest' Moment In 'Quite Some Time'

    The late night host said the first lady looked especially pleased to see one longtime Trump nemesis.

  • Once again, Trump starts a term with a weak approval rating

    Today, 538 is unveiling a new polling average for President Donald Trump's job approval rating. Based on the 11 polls released since his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump's average approval rating starts off at 50 percent, while 43 percent disapprove of the job he is doing as president. You can find a constantly updated estimate of Trump's approval rating on 538's polls page, and you can read our full methodology for calculating this average here.