Friday marked the 2021 Lunar New Year, also referred to as Chinese New Year. This year will be recognized as the ‘Year of the Ox,’ named after the second zodiac animal. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, celebrations across the globe were subdued. No annual parade or large family gatherings greeted the Lunar New Year. Just relief at the passing of the Year of Rat and hope that the Year of the Ox will bring a turnaround in fortunes.

While the Lunar New Year was mainly celebrated across China, many other countries also witnessed mild celebrations.

Women wearing traditional outfits chat at a park on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox in Yokohama’s Chinatown area. (Photo credit: AFP)
People visit Houhai lake in Beijing on February 12, 2021, on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox. (Photo credit: AFP)
People look at a giant ox lantern in a park in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. (Photo credit: AFP)
A man looks at his mobile phone as he sits on the banks of the Yangtze River in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province ahead of the start of the Lunar New Year, which ushered in the Year of the Ox on February 12. (Photo credit: AFP)
A restaurant employee pushes a trolley along a street on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox in Yokohama’s Chinatown area. (Photo credit: AFP)
A woman prays outside the Thien Hau Temple, closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Photo credit: AFP)
A street is decorated with lanterns on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which ushers in the Year of the Ox in Chinatown, central London. (Photo credit: AFP)
People celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday in Chinatown in New York. (Photo credit: AFP)
People celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday in Chinatown in New York. (Photo credit: AFP)
Divers wearing costumes perform a traditional lion dance to celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox at Jakarta Aquarium and Safari conservation park. (Photo credit: AFP)
Traditional Chinese dancers perform during the celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday in Chinatown in New York City. (Photo credit: AFP)
People celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday in Chinatown on February 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo credit: AFP)
People wear traditional Chinese outfits as they walk in Chinatown in Bangkok. (Photo credit: AFP)
A child touches a bull sculpture at a shopping district in Beijing on February 11, 2021, ahead the biggest holiday of the year, the Lunar New Year. (Photo credit: AFP)