FACTBOX-Traditional ways of celebrating Lunar New Year

(Reuters Life!) -- The lunar "Year of the Rat" begins on February 7 in China and will also be celebrated by as many as 35 million overseas Chinese in cities across the globe.

Here are some of the different ways the Lunar New Year is celebrated by Chinese communities.

FIRECRACKERS

-- Firecrackers and fireworks, thought to drive off bad luck with their loud explosions, are a key part of celebrations from Beijing to the large Chinese community in Peru.

-- In countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, where small, loud firecrackers have been banned because of the dangers they pose, shops play recorded soundtracks of exploding firecrackers.

RED ENVELOPES:

-- Small, gold-embossed red envelopes stuffed with lucky money are handed out to children by adults across China, and in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese overseas communities.

-- Known as 'hong bao' in standard Mandarin, 'lai see' in Hong Kong and 'ang pao' in Singapore, some benefactors' preference for giving crisp, unused bills sees lines form at banks each year.

WEARING RED, NOT SWEEPING AND STAYING UP LATE: