"31 JANUARY 2016 - BANGKOK, THAILAND:           Mahayana Buddhist monks participate in a prayer service before Chinese New Year at Wat Mangon Kamlawat, the largest Mahayana (Chinese) Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Thailand has the largest overseas Chinese population in the world; about 14 percent of Thais are of Chinese ancestry and some Chinese holidays, especially Chinese New Year, are widely celebrated in Thailand. Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year or Tet (in Vietnamese communities) starts Monday February 8. The coming year will be the ""Year of the Monkey.""        PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ"
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