Many Asian countries and overseas communities marked the Lunar New Year on Saturday with fireworks, feasts and red envelopes stuffed with cash for children.
It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends with the first full moon 15 days later. The date of the holiday varies slightly each year based on the lunar cycle and falls between late January and mid-February.
Celebrations to mark Taiwan's Year of the Dragon were notable for appearances by newly elected president Lai Ching-toku and Legislative Yuan Chairman Han Yu, a representative of the opposition Kuomintang Party, which supports political unification with China.
In her speech, Tsai said that Taiwan faces a continuing conflict of “freedom and democracy versus authoritarianism,” which will “not only impact geopolitical stability but also reshape global supply chains.” It also affects.”
“For the last eight years, we have kept our promises and maintained the status quo. We have also shown resolve and strengthened our national defense,” he said. Term limits prevent him from running for a third four-year term. Tsai noted that although the self-governing island democracy has close economic ties, it has troubled political relations with China. It has threatened to invade the island to realize its goal of taking control of Taiwan and its high-tech economy.
In regions such as Taiwan and China, highways were clogged and planes were full as residents returned to their hometowns to see family or used the week-long vacation as an opportunity to vacation overseas.
Setting off bottle rockets and other fireworks is a traditional way to welcome the new year and send off any remaining bad memories. The children are given red envelopes containing cash as a show of love and to help them grow in the coming months.
Long lines of cars clogged South Korea's highways on Saturday as millions of people began leaving the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area to visit relatives across the country for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The royal palace and other tourist spots were also filled with tourists wearing Hanbok, the country's colorful traditional costume. A group of elderly North Korean refugees from the unresolved 1950-1953 civil war bow toward the north during a traditional family ceremony in the southern border town of Paju.
The holiday comes amid rising tensions with North Korea, which has stepped up weapons tests aimed at overwhelming the region's missile defenses and issued provocative threats of nuclear conflict with South Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol released a message of gratitude to South Korean soldiers, saying their service “on the barbed wire, at sea, and in the air” allowed the nation to enjoy the holidays. , started vacation.
Vietnam also celebrated the Lunar New Year, known as Tet.
Parades and commemorations are also being held overseas in cities with large Asian communities, particularly New York and San Francisco.
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