Photos: Celebrations commence the Year of the Snake
All across the world, people are starting the Lunar New Year off by bidding the Dragon adieu and welcoming in the Year of the Snake.
It’s an all-encompassing celebration that spans across countries, and nearly 2 billion participants, who will dance, eat, and gather to uphold traditions that focus on welcoming a new year with their best foot forward.
As NPR readers shared, there are plenty of rituals that families carry on year after year to guarantee good luck, good fortune, and prosperity like cleaning their homes, cutting their hair, and, of course, eating plenty of good food.
For many, it’s a time to reflect on people they have lost, but it is also a time to set intentions and welcome the new energy of the future.
So, how are the festivities kicking off globally? Check out some glimpses of dragons, fire breathers, and snakes, oh my!








Bill advances which would further protect police from criminal, civil prosecution
A recent bill in Alabama’s legislature would establish new legal protections for police officers who use physical or deadly force on a person while in the line of duty. Bill supporters say it will improve police safety, recruitment and retention. But critics worry it would give police officers immunity from criminal prosecution.
S-Town co-creator Brian Reed pulls back the curtains, goes deep into how the podcast was made
S-Town took the world by storm when it was released in 2017. Downloaded more than 100 million times, it’s become one of the most popular podcasts ever released.
In the fight over Louisiana’s execution plans, religion plays a prominent role
Faith activism against the state's plan to resume executions adds to a history of religious engagement with social questions in the South.
Syrian Jews return to Damascus for the first time in decades, hoping to build bridges
Thousands of Jews left Syria in 1992, when they were allowed to emigrate. The visit by a small delegation of U.S.-based Syrian Jewish religious figures last week was their first time back since then.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley discusses his mission to hold big tech accountable
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri talks about his mission to hold tech companies accountable even as they try to align themselves with President Donald Trump.
Thailand deports dozens of Uyghurs to China, activists say
The detainees were part of a group of some 300 Uyghurs who fled China and were arrested in Thailand in 2014. Thailand deported more than 100 of them to China in 2015, drawing condemnation.