Hong Kong | Tweed Librarian

Today is the beginging of the Lunar New Year in many Asian countries and territories, including China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. In 1873, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, though the lunar New Year is still celebrated in Okinawa. It’s the Year of the Dragon, which is supposed to be a very auspicious one. I’ve assembled some of my favorite photographs from our Asia trips to celebrate.

May you have a wonderful year!

For more information, this Wikipedia article is pretty robust.

We usually travel in late November to maximize our vacation days. It’s often cold, but flights are less expensive than in the summer. A great thing about traveling then is that we get to see Christmas lights and markets in different countries, even those that aren’t really Christian countries. My favorite Christmas tradition is the German markets with mulled wine (gluhwein) that you can buy in a cup and take with you as you walk around the market, the mall, or the street. Here are some glimpses of how some cities are decorated for the holidays.

Christmas lights in Seoul, Korea. It was REALLY cold.