Food, firecrackers and family reunions: how lunar new year is celebrated differently across Asia

Chua Yiying Charmaine posing at Sago street in Singapore. Photograph: Amrita Chandradas/The Guardian

For billions of people across Asia and in Asian diaspora communities around the world, this weekend marks the beginning of the lunar new year celebrations, a two-week holiday marking the end of the Zodiac year of the Tiger, and ushering in the Year of the Rabbit – or Cat, if you are in Vietnam. For the first few days commercial activity slows or stops, as people gather with their families. For many migrant workers in China, it is often the only time of the year they can return to home towns. The holiday is steeped in tradition, with a focus on family, food, reflection and looking forward.

MALAYSIA