The Lunar New Year in 2022 was celebrated across the world on February 1, 2022, marking the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. The Lunar New Year celebration traditionally involves firecrackers, lanterns, dragon dances, and heavy use of the colour red, and these sights could be seen all over Chinatown in Los Angeles, California, where Asian Americans celebrated the beginning of the New Year. Asian Americans have been facing racism and violence since the beginning of the pandemic and hopes are high that anti-Asian hate will see a decline this year.

A volunteer cares for candles ahead of the Lunar New Year at the Thien Hau Temple in Los Angeles’ Chinatown.
People buy red envelopes, gifted for as a symbol of good luck, for the Lunar New Year in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles.
Worker Jose Vargas, originally from Michoacan, Mexico, exchanges hundreds of color-faded Red Chinese lanterns with new ones ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles on January 28, 2022.
A worker exchanges hundreds of color-faded Red Chinese lanterns with new ones ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles on January 28, 2022.
Volunteers Alex Koi and his son Lipsun Koi, 20, help install anti-slip tape on the front steps of the Thien Hau Temple ahead of the crowds expected for Lunar New Year of the Tiger celebrations in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles on January 28, 2022.