More than a billion people around the world are celebrating the Lunar New Year.

© Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

From China to Indonesia, the year of the snake symbolises wisdom and vitality and is marked by family gatherings and festive red banners across many parts of East and Southeast Asia

Hundreds of millions of people across Asia will celebrate the lunar new year with their families on Wednesday, as they bid farewell to the year of the dragon and usher in the year of the snake.

In China, people will enjoy eight days of consecutive public holidays for the 2025 Spring festival, an opportunity to share meals, attend traditional performances, and set off firecrackers and fireworks.

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© Photograph: Juni Kriswanto/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Juni Kriswanto/AFP PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images

A typhoon and extreme heat dramatically affected prices for the kumquat trees that are ubiquitous during the holiday.

© Nhac Nguyen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Asian communities across the world will begin ringing in the lunar new year on 29 January, with 2025 designated as the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac. The Naga Merah Putih troupe practise in the abandoned back area of a small storefront in Bogor, West Java, and perform in a local shopping mall ahead of the new year

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© Photograph: Dita Alangkara/AP

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© Photograph: Dita Alangkara/AP

Just in time for Lunar New Year, Cooking writers share the dumplings they love most, with recipes and videos for how to make them.

© Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.