TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Scores of Asian countries and overseas communities welcomed the Lunar New Year on Saturday with fireworks, celebrations and red envelopes full of cash for children.

It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later with the first full moon. Holiday dates vary slightly each year, ranging from late January to mid-February, as they are based on the cycles of the moon.

Taiwan’s Year of the Dragon celebrations were marked by appearances by newly elected President Lai Ching-te and legislature speaker Han Kuo-yu, who represents the opposition Nationalist Party, which favors political unification with China.

In her address, Tsai said Taiwan faces an ongoing conflict between “freedom and democracy versus authoritarianism” that “affects not only geopolitical stability but also the restructuring of global supply chains.”

“Over the last eight years, we have kept our promises and maintained the status quo. We have also shown our resolve and strengthened our national defense,” said Tsai, who cannot run for a third four-year term due to term limits, referring to the self-governing island democracy’s close economic ties but tense political ties with China have threatened to invade the island to realize his goal of taking control of Taiwan and its high-tech economy.

Taiwan, China and other areas experienced clogged highways and fully booked flights as residents traveled home to visit family or used the week-long vacation as an opportunity to vacation abroad.

Firing bottle rockets and other fireworks is a traditional way to welcome the New Year and leave any remaining bad memories behind. As a sign of affection and help for the coming months, the children receive red envelopes filled with cash.

Long lines of cars clogged South Korean highways on Saturday as millions of people began leaving the densely populated capital region of Seoul to visit relatives across the country for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Royal palaces and other landmarks were also packed with visitors wearing the country’s colorful, traditional “hanbok” robes. Groups of elderly North Korean refugees from the still-unresolved 1950-53 civil war bowed north during traditional family rituals in the southern border town of Paju.

The holiday came amid heightened tensions with North Korea, which is stepping up weapons tests to overwhelm regional missile defenses and making provocative threats of a nuclear conflict with the South.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol began the holiday with a message of gratitude to South Korean soldiers, saying their service along the “front line between barbed wire, sea and sky” allowed the nation to enjoy the holiday.

Vietnam also celebrated Lunar New Year, known there as Tet.

Parades and commemorations are also held in cities with large overseas Asian communities, particularly New York and San Francisco.