Artists performing the dragon dance for Chinese New Year, Luzhou, China

© Liu Guoxing/VCG via Getty Image

Enter the dragons. Happy Lunar New Year!

Celebrating the first new moon of the lunar calendar, an estimated 2 billion people gather worldwide to usher in the Lunar New Year with vibrant celebrations and family reunions. The festivities, also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, last for 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival. From envelopes to lanterns, red is the dominant color, symbolizing luck and prosperity. Streets come alive with the rhythm of drums as the dragon dance takes center stage. Our homepage today shows a bird's-eye view of the dragons—elongated puppets with shimmering scales, animated by a team of dancers. Lunar New Year is a popular time for families to reunite and is said to be responsible for the world's largest annual human migration. Each year is linked to one of the 12 zodiac animals and 2024 heralds the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of nobility, power, and success.