Year Of The Rat

People celebrate the Lunar New Year in Chinatown in New York, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, ushering in the Year of the Rat. The rat is the first of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, each representing a lunar year, and many Chinese consider it an honor to be born under the rodent's sign.

Fireworks light the sky over Victoria Harbor to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong Friday, Feb. 8, 2008.

A performer jumps through a hoop at a temple fair in Beijing on the second day of the Lunar New Year Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. Thousands flocked to temples across the city to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rat.

A woman buys candied fruit at a temple fair in Beijing on the second day of the Lunar New Year Friday Feb. 8, 2008. Thousands flocked to temples across the city to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rat.

Visitors burn incense to mark the start of the Lunar New Year at the Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. Millions across China have been marking the beginning of the Year of the Rat, and the week-long Spring Festival holiday that goes with it.

A lion dancer performs in front of the electronic board at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati as they celebrate the Year of the Rat on the Chinese Lunar Calendar on Thursday Feb. 7, 2008.

Fireworks are seen above Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, as part of Lunar New Year celebrations.

A Filipino performer does the dragon dance at Manila's Chinatown, Philippines, as they celebrate the Year of the Rat in the Chinese lunar calendar on Thursday Feb. 7, 2008.

A Filipino performer jumps to avoid firecrackers at Manila's Chinatown, Philippines, as they celebrate the Year of the Rat in the Chinese lunar calendar on Thursday Feb. 7, 2008.

Three people dressed in traditional Chinese clothing celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year outside a downtown shopping mall in Hong Kong on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008.

Visitors burn incense sticks and pray at a temple in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year Thursday Feb. 7, 2008. Thousands flocked to temples across the city to pray for good luck in the new year, the Year of the Rat.

A man prays with joss sticks as he pays his first visit of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Jade Buddha Temple Thursday Feb. 7, 2008, in Shanghai, China. China's snow crisis wound down just in time for Thursday's Lunar New Year holiday, after a striking and uniquely Chinese display of communist mass mobilization, propaganda and state control.

A man places incense at Quan Su pagoda in Hanoi,Vietnam, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008 , the first day of the Lunar New Year.

A visitor burns incense sticks and prays at a temple in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year Thursday Feb. 7, 2008. Thousands flocked to temples across the city to pray for good luck in the new year, the Year of the Rat.

Malaysian ethnic Chinese man prepares to recite prayer at a temple during the first day of the Chinese lunar New Year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. Malaysian ethnic Chinese swarmed the temple to pray for good fortune and watch the traditional lion dance.