Southeast Asia joins millions worldwide in ringing in Year of the Snake

Lion dances, firecrackers, and feasts transformed cities from Bangkok to Manila on Wednesday.
BenarNews staff
2025.01.29
Southeast Asia joins millions worldwide in ringing in Year of the Snake Dragon dancers perform while firecrackers explode during Lunar New Year celebrations in Binondo, Manila, Philippines, Jan. 29, 2025.
Eloisa Lopez/Reuters/TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

From igniting fireworks to joining in lion dances, Southeast Asia joined millions of people all over the world in celebrating the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.

The event, colloquially known as the “Chinese New Year,” is considered the biggest holiday for Chinese communities worldwide.

Jan. 29 marked the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. Associated with myths and customs, the occasion is a time to honor deities and ancestors.

Ethnic Chinese communities in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines celebrated on Wednesday with festive family feasts, colorful celebrations, and prayers for good luck. 

The color red, symbolizing good fortune in Chinese tradition, featured prominently in banners, lanterns, and even in paper envelopes containing money distributed during family events.

In Bangkok, some Chinese-Thai families visited temples to light incense sticks and perform traditional rituals to pay respects and seek blessings. 

At the Wat Mangkon Kamalawat temple, a lion dance entertained the crowd.

“I have many Thai-Chinese friends who say this temple is very sacred,” long-time visitor Sasakorn Udomrat told news agency Agence France-Presse. 

Built in 1871, the temple is regarded as the capital’s most revered Chinese place of worship.

In Malaysia, revelers enjoyed firecrackers and lion dances at Kuala Lumpur’s Guan Di temple. Inside the temple, some placed incense sticks into gold-colored pots to pay respects.

In other Southeast Asian capitals such as Manila, offices and shopping malls were adorned with festive red decorations to ward off evil spirits.

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A dancer blows fire during Lunar New Year celebrations in Binondo, Manila, Jan. 29, 2025. [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

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Chinese lion dancers perform before the crowd to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Wat Mangkon Kamalawat temple in Bangkok, Jan. 29, 2025 [Supattra Plongklum-Thai News Pix/BenarNews]

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A woman makes an offering of incense sticks on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake, at the Taoist Guan Di Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 29, 2025. [Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]

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A man and his child watch fireworks during Lunar New Year celebrations in Manila, Jan. 29, 2025. [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters/TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY]

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Indonesians of Chinese descent hold joss sticks as they pray during the celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Snake at Hok Lay Kiong Temple in Bekasi, Indonesia, Jan. 29, 2025. [Dita Alangkara/AP]

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A man prays during the celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Snake at Hok Lay Kiong Temple in Bekasi, Indonesia, Jan. 29, 2025. [Dita Alangkara/AP]

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A woman whispers to a Chinese statue as she prays at a Chinese temple on Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Jan. 29, 2025. [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]

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A Malaysian ethnic Chinese family takes a picture on the first day of Lunar New Year at Guandi Temple, in Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 29, 2025. [Vincent Thian/AP]
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