Chinese New Year Celebrations 2005

Toby Lee, 6, of De Pere, Wis., sticks his tongue out at the lion during a "Lion Dance," part of the Chinese New Year Celebration inside Rose Hall at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Feb. 6, 2005.

Oakland, Calif.

Tiffany Tran, 7, performs a "Chicken" dance as she wears a traditional Chinese dress during the Chinese New Year Festival in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 6, 2005. The Chinese New Year officially starts on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005.

Iowa City, Iowa

Children peek through a curtain at the "Dragon Lion Dance," at the Chinese New Year celebration at the University of Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City Feb. 6, 2005. Clockwise from left are Vicky Zhu,10, Angela Wu, 9, Elizabeth Han, 7, and Sherry Luo, 9, all of Coralville, Iowa. They were waiting to perform a "Red Kerchief Show," a traditional Chinese dance known as Kan Hua Deng.

Shanxi Province, China

A Chinese man and his daughter look at Spring Festival decorations in Linfen City, north China's Shanxi Province, Monday, Feb. 7, 2005. Chinese people will celebrate the Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year, as the year of the rooster, on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Beijing, China

Drum dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the Temple of the Earth fair on the eve of Chinese New Year in Beijing Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005. Fairs are opening at temples and parks across the city to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rooster Wednesday, kicking off a week-long Spring Festival holiday.

Beijing, China

Performers dressed as imperial guards pick up an emperor in a sedan chair during a re-enactment of a Qing Dynasty sacrifice ceremony at Beijing's Temple of the Earth, on the eve of Chinese New Year Feb. 8, 2005. The ceremony, in which Qing Dynasty emperors sacrificed animals to ensure good harvests in the coming year, is recreated each year at Spring Festival.

Singapore

Standing by a statue of the God of Fortune people watch fireworks Monday, Feb. 7, 2005, marking the start of Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore. Over the next two weeks, Chinese Singaporeans celebrate the Lunar New Year that starts Wednesday by visiting one another in the city-state.

Bangkok, Thailand

Young Thai girls dressed as Chinese Goddesses gather as part of New Year celebrations Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005, in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok has a large Chinese community and celebrations for the New Year are filled with fireworks and family gatherings.

Bangkok, Thailand

Dressed in Chinese Clown costumes, young men wait for a parade to begin Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand

Models dressed in red, the color of good luck, gather as part of New Year celebrations Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Beijing, China

Two men impersonate late Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong, right, and Deng Xiaoping on stage at a temple fair in Beijing on the eve of Chinese New Year Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005. Fairs are opening at temples and parks across the city to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rooster Wednesday, kicking off a week-long Spring Festival holiday.

Manila, Filipinnes

A Filipino customer bargains for the price of a rooster during a shopping rush on the eve of the celebration of the Chinese New Year Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005, at Manila's China town. Even non-Chinese Filipinos are buying different Chinese charms in the Year of the Roosters in the belief that it will bring good luck and fortune to them.