Year of the Snake is underway with Lunar New Year festivities

A dancer prepares for a lion dance performance at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on Jan. 29, 2025, on the first day of the Lunar Year of the Snake. People pray at the Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi on Jan. 29, 2025, the Lunar New Year, known in Vietnam as Tet. Participants perform a dragon dance during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow.