The Lunar New Year kicks off on Jan. 29, 2025. Here's what to know about the year of the Wood Snake, from the personality traits to the various Snake elements, according to Chinese metaphysics consultant Vicki Iskandar.

Lunar New Year celebrations begin Wednesday. Here's everything to know about the 2025 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake.

Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year — and 15 days of celebration and tradition. It's the year of the snake, and according to Chinese Association of Newfoundland and Labrador president Francis Tam,

Lunar New Year — also commonly called Chinese New Year — marks the start of the new year based on lunar calendars, or monthly cycles of the moon's phases.   The lunar new year starts with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon,

Among China’s traditional holidays and celebrations, none ranks higher in importance than the Lunar New Year (農曆新年). Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar.

Cuba’s small Chinese community celebrated the Lunar New Year overnight, ushering in the Year of the Snake with a vibrant parade, glowing lanterns, and dragons winding their way through the narrow streets of Chinatown.

Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday. (AP video shot by Syawalludin Zain, Taijing Wu)