亚洲人民用焰火,礼物和祈祷庆祝新年

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.

从河内到平壤，亚洲国家的人们星期四以燃放焰火、祈福和家庭团聚的方式来迎接新年的到来。

北京和上海燃放的大量烟花点亮了夜空。而在朝鲜，孩子们放飞风筝而且玩传统的游戏。在大部分亚洲人庆祝兔年会带来好运的同时，越南参加舞会的人则庆祝他们的猫年。

不管他们怎么称呼这一年，庆祝的人到寺庙烧香拜佛、交换礼物, 享受丰盛的美食。像往常一样，春节给零售商带来了商机，而且今年就连美国的食品和威士忌酒承办商都报告说，他们在一个日益增长的中国市场里获得了强劲的销售。

在华盛顿，美国总统奥巴马向所有庆祝农历新年的人送上和平、繁荣和健康的祝福。他提到，生活在美国各个城市和小镇上的亚裔美国人也将庆祝这个新年。