On Jan. 29, Chinese communities across the world celebrate the Year of the Snake with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks, and other festivities. In many Asian countries, the celebration lasts for several days. In diaspora communities, particularly in cultural enclaves, the Lunar New Year is marked by visible and joyful celebrations.

In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Snake. While different countries across Asia celebrate the new year in various ways, the zodiac may differ from place to place.

What is Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year—known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea, and Imlek in Indonesia—is a major festival observed in several Asian countries. In Taiwan, people are flocking to the White Snake Temple to pay their respects. In Indonesia, celebrations include dragon puppets and drum performances. The festival is also widely observed by diaspora communities globally.

The celebration begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. Since the lunar calendar follows the cycles of the moon, the dates of the holiday shift slightly each year, falling between late January and mid-February.

How Do Chinese Communities Celebrate?

Asian American communities in the US organize parades, carnivals, and festivities featuring lion and dragon dances, fireworks, traditional food, and cultural performances. Many also clean their homes, buy new furniture, and decorate with orchids and other colorful flowers.

Lunar New Year is celebrated as a cultural event by some Asian American Christians and is observed by several Catholic dioceses across the US and other churches.

In Indonesia, home to the largest Chinese ethnic population abroad with 10.8 million people (according to Goodstats.id), a Barongsai (lion dance) performance was featured to the festivities at the Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java. The lively display, aimed at entertaining tourists, featured two lion dancers and one dragon performed by an 11-member troupe led by Muhammad Ikbal from the Barongsai Isakuiki Yogyakarta art group. The dancers showcased various formations, such as a spiraling and sommersault dragon, all accompanied by traditional gamelan music. Barongsai performances also took place at malls, train stations, temples, and on the streets of Chinatowns across Indonesia.

This year’s fanfare was a stark contrast to last year’s subdued celebrations. Due to concerns over the political climate surrounding the presidential election, there were no parades or carnivals in 2024. 

Meanwhile, the Lunar New Year celebration at Maha Vihara Maitreya in Medan, North Sumatra, one of Indonesia's largest temples, drew thousands of Chinese Buddhists on Wednesday. Families gathered to pray for peace and prosperity amidst 5,000 colorful lanterns and decorations, including a giant snake symbolizing this year’s zodiac. After praying, many took photos with the festive decorations and enjoyed a Chinese food bazaar.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the popping sounds of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals. Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.

Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temple’s main hall.

Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world’s biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, China's capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out.

What Does the Year of the Snake Mean?

Each year honors one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. These animals represent the cycles of time. Legend has it that a god summoned all animals to bid him farewell before his departure from Earth, but only 12 showed up. The Vietnamese zodiac differs slightly, honoring the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox.

Snakes in Chinese culture are both feared and revered. Venomous snakes are often associated with darkness, but in Chinese mythology, snakes are seen as "little dragons," and their shed skin is referred to as the "dragon's coat," symbolizing good luck, rebirth, and regeneration. The snake also represents the pursuit of love and happiness. Alongside the turtle and crane, it is regarded as a symbol of longevity.

This year, merchants in China and beyond are producing products such as lanterns and soft toys featuring snakes with googly eyes and goofy smiles to make them more appealing to children and lessen any fear.

What Are Some Beliefs and Traditions Around Lunar New Year?

One well-known legend speaks of Nian, a monstrous beast that devoured human flesh on New Year’s Day. To scare the monster away, people used red decorations, loud noises, and fire. The tradition persists today as Lunar New Year celebrations are centered around dispelling bad luck and welcoming prosperity. Red is considered an auspicious color and symbolizes good fortune and joy. People wear red attire, decorate homes with red lanterns, and give red envelopes containing money to friends and family. Gambling and traditional games are also common during this period.

Ancestor worship is an important aspect of the festival. Many Korean families participate in a ritual called "charye," where food is prepared by women and served to ancestors by men. The ceremony ends with the entire family partaking in the food and seeking blessings for the new year. In Vietnam, people cook traditional dishes and place them on home altars as a sign of respect for ancestors.

Some Indigenous groups, such as Mexico’s Purepecha community, also celebrate Lunar New Year at this time.

What Are Some Special Foods for the New Year?

Each culture has its own special foods for the new year, including dumplings, rice cakes, spring rolls, tangerines, fish, and meats. In Chinese culture, for instance, "changshou mian" or "long-life noodles" are eaten for a wish of long life. In Vietnam, "banh chung" and "banh tet," made from glutinous rice, are traditional must-eats. Banh tet, for example, is made by wrapping rice, mung beans, and pork belly in banana leaves and rolling it tightly.

In Korea, people enjoy "tteokguk," a brothy soup with thinly sliced rice cakes. In Hong Kong, some celebrate with warm bowls of snake soup.