World celebrates Lunar New Year

Dragon and lion dancers perform amidst exploding firecrackers in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 at Manila's Chinatown district in Manila, Philippines. This year is Year of the Monkey in the Lunar calendar.

AP PHOTOS: Happy New Year! World celebrates 2016

Peoples release balloons to celebrate the New Year with Tokyo Tower in the background in Tokyo, early Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. Japan celebrated the start of 2016, the Year of the Monkey in the Japanese Zodiac.

Celebrating the new year in Southeast Asia

In this photo by Khin Maung Win, a boy runs as he is sprayed with water during the opening of the Thingyan water festival in Yangon, Myanmar. The water festival, known as Songkran in Thailand, marks the new year across Southeast Asia. Traditionally, people sprinkle water on their family members and elders and pay their respects to Buddha. In the region's big cities, the festival is three days of water-soaked play, with locals and tourists being splashed with buckets of water, hoses and super soakers as they gather in the streets.