A woman takes a selfie in front of a multi coloured sheep installation displayed in a shopping mall for the Chinese New Year celebrations in Hong Kong on February 18, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year of the Sheep begins on February 19. AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The Year of the Wooden Sheep was ushered in by many countries in the world on Thursday through loud and vibrant Chinese traditions. Binondo, the world’s oldest Chinatown, for one, came to life with colorful lantern displays and flamboyant fireworks exhibition.
In case you are curious, INQUIRER.net has collated pictures of Chinese New Year celebrations in different corners of the world. Take a look:
CHINA
People walk past a giant sheep outside a shopping mall as part of decorations for the Lunar New Year in Beijing on February 16, 2015. China’s coming lunar new year has stirred a debate over which zodiac creature – sheep or goat – is the correct one — but Chinese folklorists dismiss the fixation on animals as missing the point. AFPA Chinese woman prays on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing, China Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. APA boy touches a lion dancer while performing at the opening of Ditan Temple Fair on the Lunar New Year’s Eve in Beijing, China Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. According to the Lunar calendar, Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep. APFireworks light up near a residential apartment during the Chinese New Year’s Eve in Beijing Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 which marks the Year of the Sheep. APPenguins dressed in Chinese traditional costumes walk at Harbin Polar Land decorated with Chinese Lunar New Year theme in Harbin in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. Workers dressed up six gentoo penguins in the park to celebrate the Lunar New Year on coming Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. AP
AUSTRALIA
People walk around and photograph “The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors” display during the launch of the Chinese Festival in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. Ninety 2.1-meter (6 feet 11 inches) tall warriors and two horses made of fabric and wire created by Chinese artist Xia Nan for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, are on display in Sydney Harbour for the ten-day event during the Chinese New Year celebrations for the year of the Sheep. APWith a backdrop of the Sydney Opera House, “The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors” stand on display in rain during the launch of the Chinese Festival in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. Ninety 2.1-meter (6 feet 11 inches) tall warriors and two horses made of fabric and wire created by Chinese artist Xia Nan for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are on display in Sydney Harbour for the ten-day event during the Chinese New Year celebrations for the Year of the Sheep. AP
PHILIPPINES
A performer donning a lion dance costume, tries to pick up red “lai see” envelopes from employees at the Philippine stock exchange during Lunar New Year of the Sheep celebrations in Manila on February 18, 2015. The Lunar New Year, the most important holiday in China and a number of countries in east and southeast Asia, starts on February 19 bringing in the “Year of the Sheep”. AFPA Filipino arranges decorations as he prepares for the Chinese New Year celebrations at Manila’s Chinatown, Philippines Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. The Chinese New Year falls on Thursday, Feb. 19. APA Filipino woman carries Chinese Lions to be used during Chinese New Year celebrations at Manila’s Chinatown, Philippines, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015. AP
HONG KONG
A woman takes a selfie in front of a multi colored sheep installation displayed in a shopping mall for the Chinese New Year celebrations in Hong Kong on February 18, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year of the Sheep begins on February 19. AFPCustomers buy Solanum mammosum, also known as nipplefruit, for home decoration at a Lunar New Year market in Victoria Park of Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. APVendors sell toy sheep at a Lunar New Year market in Victoria Park of Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. APImages of Chinese lanterns are projected on the building of Hong Kong Cultural Center in Hong Kong Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. APVendors sell toy dancing lions at a Lunar New Year market of Victoria Park in Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. AP
SOUTH AFRICA
Artists wear make-up before a rehearsal for the celebrations of the upcoming Chinese New Year at the Brightwater Commons shopping center in Johannesburg on February 1, 2015. The New Year of the goat will start on February 19, 2015. AFPAn Artist rehearses for the celebrations of the upcoming Chinese New Year at the Brightwater Commons shopping center in Johannesburg on February 1, 2015. The New Year of the goat will start on February 19, 2015. AFPAn artist walks through open suitcases during a rehearsal of the celebrations for the upcoming Chinese New Year at the Brightwater Commons shopping center in Johannesburg on February 1, 2015. The New Year of the goat will start on February 19, 2015. AFP
CAMBODIA
Lion dancers perform with the metal poles inside a complex of Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 ahead of Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 19 this year. APCambodian vendors wait for costumers as they sell yellow flowers at a sidewalk store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. The yellow flowers are widely used by Chinese people living in Cambodia to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 19 this year. APA tourist walks past red lanterns displayed for sale for the Chinese New Year celebrations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 19 this year. AP
FRANCE
A man carries a giant dragon’s head during the Chinese New Year celebrations, in the 13th district of Paris, on February 9, 2014. AFPPeople take pictures of giant dragons as they are carried in the streets during the Chinese New Year celebrations in the 13th district of Paris, on February 9, 2014. AFP
INDONESIA
Indonesians of Chinese descent hold joss sticks as they pray during Chinese New Year celebration at Dharma Bhakti temple at the China Town in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Ethnic Chinese in the world’s most populous Muslim country are celebrating the start of the year of the sheep. APIndonesians of Chinese descent attend a prayer during Chinese New Year celebration at Dharma Sakti temple at the China Town in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Ethnic Chinese in the world’s most populous Muslim country are celebrating the start of the year of the sheep. AP
JAPAN
Pedestrians look at next year’s “Year of the Sheep”, part of a display window at a department store, in the Ginza shopping district of central Tokyo on December 26, 2014. Japan’s factory output and inflation rate slowed in November, official data showed on December 26, dealing a fresh challenge for Tokyo’s bid re-boot the economy, just days after pro-business Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected following a snap election. AFPA sea lion paints a Chinese character for “sheep” in calligraphy as part of a New Year’s Day attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on December 31, 2014. The event, marking the forthcoming Chinese lunar calendar “Year of the Sheep”, is part of the aquarium’s New Year’s attractions until February 1. The actually 2015 lunar new year will begin on February 19. AFP
MALAYSIA
Visitors offer prayers on the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. APA Malaysian woman and her child give red packet to the lion dance troupe during the lion dance performance on the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. APA Malaysian prays on the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. APTemple visitors give red packets to the lion dance troupe during the lion dance performance on the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. AP
SINGAPORE
In this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, Cheong Lan Yang, 68, rear left, tosses “yu sheng,” a raw fish salad, with family members during a family reunion dinner for Chinese New Year, at a restaurant in Singapore. This Singaporean tradition is known as lo hei, which means tossing up good fortune in Cantonese and is done at the start of family reunion dinners before Chinese New Year. The raw fish in the salad symbolizes the abundance of wealth and long life that Cheong, who lives in Australia, hopes for in the new year. I hope this Chinese New Year brings good health because I would like to live long enough to see my grandchildren one day, he said. Chinese New Year is a time for family gathering and that means a lot to me because I currently live abroad, and this is a time for us to share old memories as well as make new ones. APChildren watch as divers perform a dragon dance underwater at the South East Asia Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa, a popular tourist destination, as part of Chinese New Year celebrations, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015 in Singapore. The tradition of dragon dance performances, usually on land, is believed to bring blessings to guests for an auspicious Lunar New Year. APDolls dressed in traditional Chinese costume welcome customers at a store selling Chinese New Year decorations, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 in Singapore. This year marks the Year of the Sheep in the Chinese Lunar calendar. APA store vender waits among Chinese New Year decorations comprising of lanterns, toy sheep and other trinkets for sale, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 in Singapore. This year marks the Year of the Sheep in the Chinese Lunar calendar. AP
SOUTH KOREA
An employee of a department store checks a worker wearing a panda costume before a promotion event to invite Chinese tourists to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival or Chinese New Year holiday in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea has risen lately. APDancers perform during a promotional event to invite Chinese tourists to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival or Chinese New Year holiday in front of a department store in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea has risen lately. APWorkers wearing panda costumes wait for the start of a promotion event to invite Chinese tourists to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival or Chinese New Year holiday in front of a department store in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea has risen lately. AP
TAIWAN
A woman shops for good luck ornaments at the traditional Dihua market for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. The first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Thursday, Feb. 19. APShop employees try to lure customers at the traditional Dihua market to purchase festive snacks for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. The first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Thursday, Feb. 19. APA devotee prays on the eve of the Chinese lunar new year at the Lungshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. According to the Lunar calendar, Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep. APDevotees light candles on the eve of the Chinese new year at the Lungshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. According to the Lunar calendar, Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of the Sheep. AP
THAILAND
An ethnic Chinese woman prays to celebrate the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the Hea Tek Tunk Chinese Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. APEthnic Chinese people pray at Wat Mangkon Kamalawat Chinese Temple in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19. AP
UNITED KINGDOM
Helen Smith, a fan of the Chinese actress Li Bing Bing, poses with a wax figure of the Chinese actress unveiled to kick off London’s Chinese New Year celebrations at Madame Tussauds in central London on January 29, 2015. The Chinese lunar New Year, ushering in the Year of the Sheep, begins on February 19. AFP
VIETNAM
A farmer transports kumquat trees before selling them ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hanoi on February 13, 2015. The upcoming Lunar New Year bears the sign of the Sheep according to the lunar calendar. AFPStreet vendors walk their bicycles loaded with goods for sale along a street in the old quarter of Hanoi as Vietnamese prepare to celebrate Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, in Hanoi on February 12, 2015. AFP
