Lunar New Year unites hundreds of millions across Asia

Asia Thursday celebrated its most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, with traditional rituals, praying for good fortune and prosperity in the Year of the Monkey.
In China, where the festival originated millennia ago, hundreds of millions marked the new year with temple fairs, family reunions and lavish ceremonies.
Re-enactments of traditional ceremonies were being played out at Beijing's Ditan Park, the site of the altar where sacrifices were once made to the God of Earth.
Shanghai residents queued patiently outside the Jingan temple for a chance to wish for luck, good health and prosperity.
Inside hundreds gripped sweet-burning incense sticks as they bowed and mumbled words of hope to Buddha and struck the temple's main bell.
"People go to bow and pray to (Buddha) in the hope that their wishes will come true in the new year," a young woman surnamed Xu said.
In Taiwan, the first minute of the New Year saw vast crowds thronging the major temples, as visitors engaged in a rush to be the first to offer incense stick to the deities and be blessed with a year of extra good luck.
At Tzu Nan Temple in central Taiwan's Nantou County, worshippers borrowed money from the gods - actually from the temple - but rather than spending it, they must keep it for the rest of the year as a token of non-stop cash flow.
"We are borrowing some money back in the hope that our business will be prosperous through the year," said a visitor to the temple.
Thirty millions out of South Korea's 48 million people were on the move to visit family and pay homage to the ancestors.
On Thursday, families tucked into lavish feasts Thursday hoping the omens for the coming year are good.
Under the "xong nha" tradition, the first visitor to a home during Tet determines the household's fortune for the coming year.
Generally, only close relatives are invited to call round at this time, although some families with high aspirations invite rich or famous people to ensure they too will come into wealth and influence in the new year.
Thursday was a "special day," President Gloria Arroyo declared, giving credit to China's role in forming the country's heritage, but not a holiday.