Lunar new year 2025: How Asia is celebrating the year of the snake
Lunar new year 2025: How Asia is celebrating the year of the snake
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China expects nine billion trips to be undertaken during holiday period. Asian nations have bolstered their transport facilities to keep up with the surge in travel demand. Flights to Japan from Hong Kong will be leaving every 15 minutes, with the acting CEO of the city’s airport authority saying there were 150 flights scheduled to and from 13 Japanese cities in the holiday period.
![[Chinese zodiac marks 2025 as the year of the snake]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/11/55/GettyImages-2196396498.jpeg)
According to local media, South Korea expects to see 6.39 million cars on the highways, despite Tuesday’s heavy snowfall throwing a wrench into some travel plans. In China, most businesses and government offices close for an official eight-day public holiday to allow people to travel back home for reunions, while South Koreans get a six-day break after the government designated 27 January as a temporary holiday.
![[Fireworks light up the sky during the celebrations in Manila]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/11/41/GettyImages-2195863829.jpeg)
While it has origins in China and Chinese communities in other places, the festival is celebrated in many countries and is even known by different names – the Chinese call it Spring Festival, the Vietnamese call it Tet, South Koreans Seollal, and Indonesians Imlek.
![[A lion dancer shouts as people watch a traditional lion dance for good luck and fortune]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/11/55/China-Celebrates-The-Lunar-New-Year-And-Spring-Festival-zsy97voa.jpeg)
The Chinese zodiac calendar is a continuous 12-year cycle, each year represented by 12 animals in a specific order – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. A person’s zodiac is determined by the year and the animal they are born under, and it’s believed to influence their personality, career, relationships, and fortunes.
![[People burn incense as they pray at a Chinese temple in Yangon]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/11/22/TOPSHOT-MYANMAR-LUNAR-NEW-YEAR-r8s8ij3u.jpeg)
