Asians greet Year of the Pig with feasts and prayers

Lunar New Year – this year to be called the Year of the Pig – started on Sunday, with celebrations in many Asian countries – and in any Chinese community around the world. The fireworks in China are an ancient New Year tradition meant to drive away bad luck and scare off evil spirits. Streets were littered with tattered red paper and cardboard casings from spent fireworks. The previous week already saw ‘the world’s biggest human migration’, as hund