Chinese New Year 2012 will be celebrated on Monday, Jan. 23, marking the beginning of the year of the water dragon and the 4709th year of the Chinese calendar. The holiday is the most important in China and will be met with scores of fireworks and festivities in China, Taiwan and across the globe.

Preparations have begun for the Chinese New Year festivities across the globe. In China, families clean their home, hang red banners with messages of good luck, pay respects to ancestors and begin to plan and prepare meals for Jan. 23. Many families will cover their homes with red paper lanterns and decorations signifying good fortune, wealth, longevity and happiness.

Moreover, China will celebrate the national holiday for the week of Jan. 23 to Jan. 27. Equity markets in Hong Kong and China will be closed as the country rings in the Lunar New Year.

Cities across the U.S. will also celebrate the 2012 Chinese New Year. In New York City, Asian Americans will celebrate the year of the dragon with the Lunar New Year Parade and Festival on Jan. 29 in Chinatown and a similar parade on Feb. 4 in Flushing, Queens. In San Francisco, a city rich in Chinese food and culture, the New Year will be honored with a flower market on Jan. 14 and 15, a 5k and 10k run on Feb. 19 and a parade celebration at the San Francisco Zoo on Jan. 29.

A vendor stands inside her shop selling Chinese New Year products at a market in downtown Shanghai
A vendor stands inside her shop selling Chinese New Year products at a market in downtown Shanghai on Jan. 16, 2012. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
A woman walks past red lantern decorations for the upcoming temple fair at an entrance of Longtan park in Beijing
A woman walks past red lantern decorations for the upcoming temple fair at an entrance of Longtan park in Beijing. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. The Longtan Temple Fair starts Jan. 22, and continue until Jan. 29. REUTERS/Zheyang SooHoo
Chinese New Year 2012
Bengali White Tiger cubs, dressed in traditional Chinese clothes for the upcoming Spring Festival, are seen eating inside their cage at a zoo in Qingdao, Shandong province. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. REUTERS/China Daily China Dail
A woman walks past red lanterns, which were put up as decoration for an upcoming temple fair, at an entrance of Longtan park in Beijing
A woman walks past red lanterns, which were put up as decoration for an upcoming temple fair, at an entrance of Longtan park in Beijing.The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. The Longtan Temple Fair will take place from Jan. 22 to 29. REUTERS/Zheyang SooHoo
Visitors take pictures in front of a dragon-shaped lantern which has been set up for the upcoming Lunar New Year in Beijing
Visitors take pictures in front of a dragon-shaped lantern which has been set up for the upcoming Lunar New Year in Beijing. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. REUTERS/China Daily China Dail
Divers perform a dragon dance during an event to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year at an aquarium in Beijing
Divers perform a dragon dance during an event to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year at an aquarium in Beijing on Jan. 5, 2012. The Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. REUTERS/China Daily China Dail
Workers decorate a dragon-shaped sculpture ahead of the Chinese New Year in Wenzhou
Workers decorate a dragon-shaped sculpture in preparation for a dragon dance which will involve more than 200 people during the upcoming Chinese New Year in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. REUTERS
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