Chinese New Year Jan 29, 2025

Chinese New Year

The streets come alive today with a symphony of firecrackers, red lanterns and cheerful chatter—it"s Chinese New Year. Steeped in thousands of years of tradition, this holiday marks the start of the lunisolar Chinese calendar. One of the most captivating images associated with this festival is the dragon dance, pictured here. This is a mesmerising performance where skilled dancers manipulate a long, flexible dragon puppet, bringing it to life with sinuous, undulating movements. The dragon, a symbol of power, dignity and good fortune, is believed to bring luck to the community, with longer dragons bringing even more prosperity.

© Miao Jian/Wuhan Morning Post/Visual China Group via Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Why are blackbirds tied to winter?
Jan 29, 2024Gollinger Waterfalls, Salzburg, Austria
Jan 29, 2026Milwaukee City Hall, Wisconsin, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 7, 2024A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
Jan 23, 2026Þorrablót, Icelandic midwinter festival
Apr 20, 2024Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Tomb of the Golden Pharaoh
May 3, 2026International Leopard Day
Jul 8, 2024Blueberries growing in the wild
Jul 24, 2024Flock of Swaledale sheep in North Yorkshire, England
Feb 14, 2024Vasant Panchmi
Aug 31, 2024Rocks and sand in the Sahara, Algeria
Oct 19, 2024Temple of Hathor, Dendera Temple Complex, Qena, Egypt
Oct 14, 2023Ring of fire solar eclipse
Jun 14, 2024Peggys Cove Lighthouse, Canada
Aug 27, 2024Young black caiman, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
Jan 2, 2024Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
Getting starry-eyed at the moon
Southern tip of a northern isle
Jul 7, 2026Plate-billed mountain toucan with orchids, Ecuador
Oct 23, 2023Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
Mar 16, 2024Giant panda eating bamboo
Sep 12, 2024World Dolphin Day
Staying in the loop
Want to hang about?
It’s puffling season!
Apr 18, 2026World Heritage Day
May 9, 2024Tulips at Emirgan Park in Istanbul, Türkiye
Stairway to heaven?
Gateway to Latin America
Jun 27, 2026Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island, South Carolina, United States
Dec 21, 2024Happy winter solstice!
Mar 20, 2025Spring equinox