亞洲人民用焰火,禮物和祈禱慶祝新年

Asian revellers from Hanoi to Pyongyang welcomed the arrival of the Lunar New Year Thursday with fireworks, prayers and family reunions.

Massive fireworks displays lit the skies in Beijing and Shanghai, while in North Korea, children flew kites and played traditional games. While most of Asia celebrated the good fortune promised by the Year of the Rabbit, party-goers in Vietnam celebrated what they know as the Year of the Cat.

Regardless what they called it, the celebrants visited temples, exchanged gifts and enjoyed festive meals. As usual, the holiday was a boon for retailers, and this year even American purveyors of food and whisky reported strong sales to a growing Chinese market.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama sent his wishes of peace, prosperity and good health to all those celebrating the occasion. He noted that the new year will also be celebrated by Asian-Americans in cities and towns across the United States.

從河內到平壤，亞洲國家的人們星期四以燃放焰火、祈福和家庭團聚的方式來迎接新年的到來。

北京和上海燃放的大量煙花點亮了夜空。而在朝鮮，孩子們放飛風箏而且玩傳統的遊戲。在大部分亞洲人慶祝兔年會帶來好運的同時，越南參加舞會的人則慶祝他們的貓年。

不管他們怎麼稱呼這一年，慶祝的人到寺廟燒香拜佛、交換禮物, 享受豐盛的美食。像往常一樣，春節給零售商帶來了商機，而且今年就連美國的食品和威士忌酒承辦商都報告說，他們在一個日益增長的中國市場裏獲得了強勁的銷售。

在華盛頓，美國總統奧巴馬向所有慶祝農曆新年的人送上和平、繁榮和健康的祝福。他提到，生活在美國各個城市和小鎮上的亞裔美國人也將慶祝這個新年。