Year of the Snake

The dragon dance is performed during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations at Liberdade district in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 2, 2013.

Fireworks explode over Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple as part of the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations in Penang Island, northwestern Malaysia, Feb. 6, 2013.

A Chinese actor dressed as a Qing Dynasty emperor sits on a sedan chair during a rehearsal of an ancient Qing Dynasty ceremony, Beijing, Feb. 8, 2013.

Thean Hock Keong temple, also known as Snake Temple, in Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 6, 2013.

A man sits next to Chinese New Year calligraphy displayed in a street of Hong Kong, Feb. 5, 2013.

An Indonesian-Chinese man cleans the Buddha statue in preparation for the Lunar New Year celebrations in the Satya Buddha Temple in Medan, Indonesia, Jan. 27, 2013.

South Korean singer Park Jae-sang, better known by his stage name PSY, performs during a Lunar New Year open house organized by Malaysia's ruling party National Front on Penang Island, Malaysia, Feb. 11, 2013.

Director of the Temple of White Snakes Lo Chin-shih holds a genetically modified white snake as he talks about its significance in the upcoming Lunar New Year in Taoyuan county, northwestern Taiwan, Jan. 9, 2013.

Youths check their phones as they stand at a stall of a Chinese New Year fair in Hong Kong, Feb. 5, 2013.

A dragon dance team trains in a Paris gymnasium for traditional Chinese New Year festivities, Feb. 6, 2013.

A Taiwanese shopper chooses lucky foods for the new year at the Dihua Street market in Taipei, Taiwan, Feb. 2, 2013.

A diver dressed as a mermaid performs next to a "Year of the Water Snake" greeting inside an aquarium in Manila, Feb. 8, 2013.

A man dressed as The God of Wealth poses for a picture outside a shopping mall in Hong Kong, Jan. 30, 2013.

A vendor sells Chinese lanterns at a market in Shanghai, Feb. 6, 2013.

Performers take part in a dragon dance on the eve of the Lunar New Year in Manila, Feb. 9, 2013.

A man prays at a temple as it snows in Shanghai, Feb. 7, 2013.

A man dressed as The God of Wealth poses for a picture next to some Chinese New Year decorations outside a shopping mall in Hong Kong, Jan. 30, 2013.

A woman shops under lanterns in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 6, 2013.

Chinese workers set up decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Year on the river bank of Dandong, China, which is located on the opposite side of the North Korean town of Sinuiju, Feb. 5, 2013.

Muslim workers carry giant candles to a Buddhist temple in Jakarta, Indonesian, Feb. 8, 2013.

An actress performs with a snake to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year in Hetian, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 6, 2013.

Visitors look at a display celebrating Lunar New Year in Shanghai, Feb. 8, 2013.

People gather at a Taoist temple in Hong Kong, Feb. 7, 2013.

A worshipper burns incense while offering prayers at the Yonghegong Lama temple in Beijing, Feb. 8, 2013.

Chinese folk artists perform during the opening ceremony of the Spring Festival Temple Fair at Dragon Lake Park in Beijing, Feb. 9, 2013.

A performer plays the role of the emperor during a re-enactment of an ancient ceremony of Qing Dynasty emperors praying for good harvest and fortune during the opening ceremony of the Spring Festival Temple Fair at the Temple of Earth park in Beijing, Feb. 9, 2013.

Indonesians of Chinese descent pray in the smoke filled Vihara Dharma Bhakti temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year Feb. 10, 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A diver performs the dragon dance during a special program for Lunar New Year at the Beijing Aquarium, Feb. 10, 2013.

People flock to Chinatown on the final day of street sales before Lunar New Year in Singapore, Feb. 9, 2013.

Chinese folk artists perform during the opening ceremony of the Spring Festival Temple Fair at Dragon Lake Park in Beijing, Feb. 9, 2013.

Members of the Chinese-American community, tourists and other New Yorkers celebrate the the first day of the Lunar New Year in New York's Chinatown, Feb. 10, 2013.

A Chinese man sets off fireworks to welcome in the 'Year of the Snake' during Lunar New Year celebrations in the Chinese border town of Dandong, Feb. 9, 2013.