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The Chinese Lunar New Year begins tomorrow on 19 February and celebrations for the year of the goat, also known as the year of the sheep or ram , are already underway in China and across Asia.
New Year’s Day in the lunar calendar is the most important holiday in China and is a public holiday in countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia where there are large Chinese populations.
Lion and dragon dancers perform as part of the festive Chinese New Year celebrations in Bangkok's shopping district
A Chinese-Thai Dancer performs a traditional Chinese dance on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand A store vender waits among Chinese New Year decorations comprising of lanterns, toy sheep and other trinkets for sale, in Singapore A woman hangs a paper crane with her wish written on it during Chinese New Year eve celebrations at Chinatown in Manila, Philippines Parades, reunions, dinners and dragon dances will all feature in the New Year holiday, although the Chinese government has asked citizens to avoid setting off their own fireworks this year to avoid adding to China’s escalating pollution problems.
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrationsShow all 15 1 /15In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 A family uses a selfie stick, in front of a tree decorated with paper lanterns at the Temple Fair, which is part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Chinese-Thai nationals walk past under Lunar New Year banners on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Men perform a lion dance to celebrate Chinese New Year in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 An Indonesian Chinese woman prays during the preparations for the Chinese New Year celebrations at a temple in China town in Jakarta, Indonesia
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 A child runs past a multi coloured sheep installation displayed in a shopping mall for the Chinese New Year celebrations in Hong Kong
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Paper money, called spirit money, is burnt in a bucket by an ethnic-Chinese Thai family in a traditional Chinese New Year ritual, believing that they will be passed onto their ancestors, at the front entrance of their shop-house home in Bangkok, Thailand
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Chinese New Year lanterns are pictured at the Thean Hou temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Two shop clerks wrap up Shou Tao, or Longevity Peaches, with callophane in a bakery in Taipei, Taiwan. Shou Tao is a steamed bun painted pink or red with red bean paste inside. Chinese give away Shou Tao as gifts or display them on the table at home during the Chinese Near Year holidays
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Fireworks explode at the River Hongbao Lunar New Year Celebrations along Marina Bay in Singapore. The Chinese Lunar New Year on February 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Goat or Ram)
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Traditional dancers perform at the Temple Fair, part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 A performer takes part in the opening of the Temple Fair, part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Filipino dancers perform a Dragon Dance on the eve of the Chinese New Year
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 A woman stands under paper lanterns, celebrating the Chinese New Year at Ditan Park in Beijing
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 Goat dolls are on display at a gift shop for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year at a market in Bangkok's Chinatown
In pictures: Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep/Goat celebrations Chinese New Year 2015 People watch fireworks illuminating the sky during the River Hongbao festival in Singapore. Chinese around the world celebrate the Chinese New Year also called Spring Festival which this year falls on 19 February the first day of the Year of the Goat
Known as Tet in Vietnam, Seollal in South Korea, and also known as the spring festival, the holiday catalyses the largest human migration in the world each year as migrant workers, students and faraway family members make their way home to celebrate.
A young couple visit theTaoist temple Hsian Seh Gong in Sanchung, New Taipei City, Taiwan A girl, holding a sheep toy, eats at the Temple Fair, which is part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, in Beijing Chinese-Thai dancers pose for a family picture after performing a Dragon Dance on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand A Malaysian ethnic Chinese man burns spiral joss sticks to welcome the Chinese New Year at a temple in Ampang, in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur
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