Lunar New Year celebrations begin Wednesday. Here's everything to know about the 2025 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake.

Firecrackers, parades and prayers marked the Lunar New Year as millions around Asia and farther afield celebrated

Asian American communities around the U.S. and around the world are ringing in the Year of the Snake Wednesday, including in New York City. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival,

Across the world, hundreds of millions of people are welcoming the Year of the Snake as they celebrate the Lunar New Year with fireworks, family time and festive dances. In north and Southeast Asia, from China to Indonesia,

Wisps and clouds of smoke rose into the air at Buddhist and Daoist temples around Asia on Wednesday as people lit incense to pray for good luck in the Year of the Snake.

Also known as Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the lunar new year based on the lunar calendar, typically falling between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20.

Lunar New Year Festival helped ring in the Year of the Snake on Saturday at the Fountain Valley Recreation Center.

From Beijing to Hanoi and Moscow, the holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. Wednesday marks the start of the Year of the Snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Communities across the world begin celebrating Lunar New Year on Jan. 29 — and 2025 marks the Year of the Snake.

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.