People dance during New Year's celebrations in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia, early Sunday, Januaru 1, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A woman poses for a selfie on a bridge decorated with lanterns at a public park in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, Sunday, January 22, 2023. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

A Chinese tourist plays with water as she celebrates during the Songkran holiday which marks the Thai New Year in Bangkok, Thailand on April 13, 2023. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

People take part in mass water fights during the first day of Songkran, or Thai New Year, on Khao San Road in Bangkok on April 13, 2023. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Phoot)

A couple shares a kiss as they celebrate New Year's Eve in central Istanbul's Taksim Square, in Istanbul, Monday, January 1, 2024. (Photo by Emrah Gurel/AP Photo)

It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

Balis Chinese community perform the dragon dance during Chinese New Year called Ngelawang ceremony on January 21, 2023 in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. The Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia is celebrating Lunar New Year, as COVID-19 restrictions have been removed, it is traditionally a time for people to meet their relatives and take part in celebrations with families. In Indonesia, ethnic Chinese families visited temples to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit on January 22. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

People dressed as a “Chinese Dragon”, swim in water at the Beijing Aquarium on January 5, 2012 in Beijing, China. The new year in Chinese calendar is the year of Dragon which will fall on January 21, 2012. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)