Celebrating the Year of the Snake, people attend the 27th New Year Firecracker Ceremonies during Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood, New York,

As millions of people around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, a cultural kick off -- in the form of the Firecracker Festival -- packed the streets of Chinatown on Wednesday.

Asian American communities around the U.S. will ring in the Year of the Snake with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks and other festivities. In many Asian countries,