BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UNA) – People across Asia braced for silent Lunar New Year celebrations amid fears of the coronavirus and a virulent omicron variant, even as increased vaccination rates raised hopes that the Year of the Tiger might bring life back to normal.
Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China, and falls on Tuesday, the first of February. Each year is named after one of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac in a recurring cycle. The year of the tiger follows the year of the bull.
This will be the third year in a row that the pandemic has been celebrated. Two days before the 2020 holiday, China locked down Wuhan – a city of 11 million people – after the coronavirus was detected there, the Associated Press reported.
About 85% of Chinese are now fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data, and more Chinese have traveled domestically this year, despite government warnings. Many people prepare for the celebration by purchasing red lanterns and other decorations for their homes, and food to mark the beginning of the new year.
However, retired 63-year-old Huang Ping lamented while shopping at a flower market in Beijing that “the New Year’s atmosphere has faded” with temples and seasonal fairs closed to prevent large crowds. He said he hopes for better times soon.
“I hope the epidemic passes as soon as possible and that the economy recovers as well,” he said.
Another retiree, Han Jueha, said he was planning to make the most of the situation.
“I will stay home, enjoying good food and wine,” said the 62-year-old. “I will make my house clean and beautiful. At the moment the virus is spreading and we need to be careful.”
About 260 million people traveled to China in the first 10 days of the holiday rush starting Jan. 17 — lower than before the pandemic but up 46% from last year. Overall, the government expects 1.2 billion trips during the holiday season, up 36% from last year.
This year’s festivities coincide with the Beijing Winter Olympics, which open near the weekend. The Chinese capital has tightened controls to contain the outbreak of the Corona virus before the sporting event.
The games are held inside closed “bubbles”, and the organizers have announced that no tickets will be sold to the public and only select spectators will be allowed.
“I will watch the games with my child, but of course on TV,” said Wang Zhou, a retail manager from Beijing.
In Hong Kong, which saw a spike in cases in January, people wore surgical masks as they shopped for red and tiger festive items. The city closed schools due to the outbreak and ordered restaurants to close at 6 p.m., forcing many to dine at home for a traditional family dinner on New Year’s Eve.
With the Year of the Tiger, many hope the traditional powers attributed to the animal will help set the country on a path out of the epidemic, said Chen Lianshan, an expert at Peking University in Chinese folklore.
“The tiger is a protection from evil spirits and can defeat demons and ghosts of all kinds, and the Chinese believe that the plague is one of the types of evil spirits,” he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, there have been indications that the festivities may not be as quiet as they were last year. Despite ongoing epidemiological restrictions, most people are now being vaccinated with at least two doses in many countries of the region.
In Hanoi’s Old Quarter, on weekends people flock to the traditional market to get decorations and flowers for the festival, known as Tet in Vietnam.
The number of daily cases in Vietnam remains at around 15,000 new infections, but its low hospitalization and death rate has allowed the country to cautiously reopen businesses and resume social activities.
More than 70% of Vietnamese have been fully vaccinated, and 80% have had at least one injection, according to Our World in Data.
However, the country has canceled Tet fireworks and other big events to reduce risks this year.
In Thailand, where 69% of people are fully vaccinated, this year Bangkok decided not to hold traditional Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinatown for the second year in a row, but was going ahead with the lighting of seasonal lanterns on the area’s main street.
In Singapore, Lunar New Year celebrations are quieter due to coronavirus restrictions that allow residents to receive only five special visitors per day, preferably only one per day. The rules are likely to conflict with the tradition of visiting relatives during the holiday.
“This year it’s going to be pretty quiet, with people moving away from visiting for the next two weeks instead of the first or second day of the new year,” said Sebastian Lim, a Singapore resident.
Business was active at a flower market in the Taiwanese capital Taipei on Monday as people made last-minute purchases. About 73% of Taiwanese are fully vaccinated.
“The epidemic is definitely affecting him a little bit, but people still love flowers, so they go out and buy flowers,” said one shopkeeper, who gave his name only as Lee.
“But the prices are lower because we have excess production and can’t export some items – that’s our biggest problem.”