The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in China and many other Asian countries. Celebrations will last until mid-February.

Celebrations vary from culture to culture, but typically on the first day of Lunar New Year people visit the senior members of their extended family. One of the most recognizable celebrations is lion dance troupes, a dramatic tradition meant to usher in the New Year and expel evil spirits.

This year, Lunar New Year begins today, Wednesday, Jan. 29, and ends Feb. 12. Lunar New Year, also widely regarded as Chinese New Year since the late 19th century when it gained global recognition through Chinese immigrant communities, is a centuries-old tradition rooted in the lunar calendar.

To welcome the year of the snake, Tet Fest celebrates with authentic food, music and dances. From Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in the Village de L'Est of New Orleans East, the state's largest Vietnamese community, transforms into a culinary wonderland, offering traditional fare like pandan waffles and pho.

Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world's biggest annual movement of humanity.

Festivities are taking place on the corner of St-Laurent and René-Lévesque boulevards in Montreal's downtown, including outdoor workshops, a large inflatable sculpture in the form of a snake, a mural,