Celebrating Lunar New Year around the world

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An animated gif shows four shoppers browsing for decorations in Jakarta, Indonesia; train stations are packed in Shanghai as people leave the city to visit family; cyclist riding by lantern decorations and rabbits in Malaysia; and a person visiting a Buddhist temple in Richmond, BC — Animated GIF shows shoppers browsing ahead of Chinese New Year in Jakarta, Indonesia; Shanghai train stations are packed as people leave to visit family; cyclist riding by festive decorations in Malaysia; and worship at a Buddhist temple in Richmond, BC (Tatan Syuflana/The Associated Press, Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters, Ben Nelms/CBC)

The Lunar New Year begins on Sunday, according to the lunisolar calendar. And this year is the Year of the Rabbit – one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Observed by more than a billion people around the world, the main holiday, also known as the Spring Festival, is celebrated not only by people of Chinese descent but also by East Asian cultures.

With China lifting its zero COVID policy last month, many are traveling to visit family for the first time since the pandemic began. This is how people used to celebrate the new year, usually a time for family gatherings, parties and fireworks.

Mass movement of people

Travelers wait for trains at the busy Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station during peak travel before the Lunar New Year in mid-January.

People gather at a crowded train station in Shanghai.

(Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Passengers board a train at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul on Friday.

People ride the train in Seoul before Chinese New Year.

(Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press)

Hang a red lantern

Red lanterns, a symbol of hope and a brighter future, are everywhere this year. Here, people walk past trees decorated with lanterns in a park in Beijing on Friday.

A man wearing a face mask walks past lantern-decorated trees ahead of Chinese New Year in Beijing.

(Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)

Drivers wait on a street decorated with lanterns in Bangkok’s Chinatown on Thursday.

Vehicles idle down streets decorated with red lanterns ahead of Chinese New Year in Bangkok.

(Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A man walks with festive lanterns in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday.

A man walks with lantern decorations ahead of Chinese New Year in Taipei, Taiwan.

(Sam Ye/AFP/Getty Images)

Visit the temple

Worshipers light incense and offer prayers, believed to bring good luck for the year, at the International Buddhist Temple in Richmond, BC, on Friday.

A woman burns incense and prays at a Buddhist temple in Richmond, BC, to mark the Lunar New Year.

(Ben Nelms/CBC)

A woman burns incense and offers prayers to mark the Lunar New Year at a Buddhist temple in Richmond, BC.

(Ben Nelms/CBC)

A man prays in Manila, Philippines, on January 14.

A man prays in front of an alcove on the street in Manila's Chinatown.

(Kevin Tristan Espiritu/AFP/Getty Images)

Holiday preparations

People browse for ornaments in a shop in Manila on Friday.

Shoppers look for ornaments at shops in Manila's Chinatown ahead of Chinese New Year.

(Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman shops for decorations at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 12.

Shoppers browse Chinese New Year decorations at a market in Jakarta's Chinatown.

(Tatan Syuflana/The Associated Press)

Year of the Cat too

Kim Phan Nguyễn-Stone, pictured with her daughter in Vancouver, is excited to mark the Lunar New Year. They are among the many Vietnamese Canadians celebrating the arrival of Chinese New Year (Year of the Cat).

A mother with her eight-year-old daughter at home with decorated walls to celebrate Chinese New Year, which in Vietnam marks the Year of the Cat.

(Ben Nelms/CBC)

Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese lunar calendar runs on a 12-year cycle, each year corresponding to a zodiac animal. Here, people enjoy ice cream next to a large cat statue in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday.

People sit near a giant cat statue in Hanoi before Chinese New Year.

(Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images)

In Victoria, James Le, who holds a statue of a cat – a gift from his mother – says the zodiac animal is an important part of his identity.

A man holds a statue of a cat in closeup outside Victoria.

(Mike McArthur/CBC)

Gift of fruits

Tangerines, clementines and kumquats are traditionally given for prosperity and health. Here, the customers of the orange tree shop in Hong Kong.

Customers shop for tangerine trees before Chinese New Year in Hong Kong.

(Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

People walk past tangerine trees for sale in Manila’s Chinatown district on January 14.

An Asian family walks around with tangerine plants for sale.

(Kevin Tristan Espiritu/AFP/Getty Images)

Pastries and snacks

The Lunar New Year meal is considered the most important meal of the year. Here, a vendor sells traditional Chinese snacks in Yangon’s Chinatown district in Myanmar ahead of the holiday.

Vendors sell traditional snacks in Chinatown in Yangon in Myanmar ahead of Chinese New Year.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Snacks are laid out for the celebration in Charlottetown January 15 where about 500 people were.

Food was featured at a Chinese New Year buffet in Charlottetown where about 500 people gathered.

(Tony Davis/CBC)

A worker packs new year gift boxes with traditional snacks at Daoxiangcun, one of the most famous Chinese bakeries in Beijing, on January 14.

A shop worker packs boxes of traditional cakes at a bakery in Beijing.

(Caroline Chen/The Associated Press)

The lion danced

An important tradition, the lion dance is said to bring prosperity and good luck for the coming year. Young people perform a lion dance at the Pondok Indah mall in Jakarta, Friday.