Asia excitedly awaits the moment of New Year's Eve

People take photos in front of a lantern-decorated area in Chinatown in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, January 21.

Japan is the only country in Asia that does not have a custom of celebrating Lunar New Year. During the Meiji period, the government issued a proclamation to switch to a new calendar and the custom of celebrating Lunar New Year gradually became less popular in the country. Most Japanese people do not know about Lunar New Year and only hear about it mainly on television news.

Somsri Boondee, 76, and her relatives pay respect to their ancestors by offering food, fruits and gifts in a traditional ceremony on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year in Nakhon Pathom province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, on January 21.

Members of a Thai-Chinese family have a meal together, called a "reunion dinner", after a traditional ancestral worship ceremony on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year in Nakhon Pathom province.

Crowds of people on January 19 on a street in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand.

People shop for decorations at a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on January 20. Elsewhere, the Year of the Cat is represented by the rabbit. Vietnam is the only place where the cat is the zodiac animal.

Although Lunar New Year is not a major holiday in either Thailand or Cambodia, each has a large Chinese population participating in the celebration.

A giant rabbit statue at the Living World shopping mall in South Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 19.

Lunar New Year, also known as Imlek, was actually banned in the country for many years. It was not until 2002 that Indonesians and Chinese immigrants were allowed to celebrate it as a national holiday.

Jakarta residents take photos with a lion dance performance at Pondok Indah shopping mall on January 20.

Lunar New Year is one of the most important religious and cultural festivals in Malaysia, where more than 20% of the population is of Chinese descent, according to Statista.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Linh Trang (27 years old), the Tet atmosphere has been filling supermarkets in Malaysia for many weeks now. “All the big supermarkets are decorated with many lanterns, peach blossoms and fake kumquat trees. People celebrate Tet very enthusiastically. I have a day off from the 30th to the 6th,” she said.

A street in Chinatown on January 18 in Singapore is decorated with lanterns and wishes.

Singaporeans celebrate Chinese New Year as the most auspicious day of the year. During the New Year, people have a number of customs such as watching the fortune teller, big family dinners, firecrackers, and red streaks all over their homes and the city.

Bonsai trees and flowers for sale in Hong Kong (China) on January 20.

People in Hong Kong (China) shop for decorations ahead of Lunar New Year on January 20.

According to Zing