Share the love - and luck and fortune - with our beautiful red envelopes! No matter what you call these lucky packets, our red envelopes are perfect for Lunar New Year, weddings, or other important milestones and events. In handy packs of ten with gold wax seals, you can pick from our gorgeous Lattice design, our stunning Peony design, or a mix of both!
No matter what you call them, our red envelopes are the perfect gift.
Whether you call these lucky red envelopes ang pao, hong bao, lai see, lai shi, yasui qian, ang pav, bokjumeoni, shugi-bukuro, go-shugi, li xi or mung tuoi, lucky bags or red packets, we've created two beautiful and timeless red envelope designs that are perfect for multicultural or intercultural wedding gifts, or to hand out to loved ones during Lunar New Year. Choose from our elegant peony pattern or our traditional Chinese lattice pattern, both in gold foil on rich lacquer-red envelopes that feel like velvet when you touch them. Here's a few fascinating facts about red packets and the tradition and history behind them!
Red envelopes aren't just for Lunar New Year!
Red packets are given as gifts during major life events such as weddings, graduations, births and baby showers, anniversaries, and promotions, as well as during important holidays and festivals such as Lunar New Year. They're a blessing of luck and fortune to start the next stage of life or the new year off with, and the rich red of the envelope signifies protection from ill luck, evil spirits and misfortune.
Lucky packets have certain requirements and rules to follow.
When giving a monetary gift in a red envelope, there's just a few things to keep in mind:
♥ Avoid putting coins in the envelope, not just because it's fiddly; it's also seen as unfavourable.
♥ Don't put in money that totals 4, 40, 44, or 400 - especially for Chinese or Japanese weddings. The word for 4 sounds far too close to the word for death, so anything that has the number four in it can be inauspicious, unlucky, and a little too close to being a curse on the newlyweds.
♥ Always use crisp, clean banknotes. Old, dirty and damaged notes are seen as improper at best, uncaring at worst.
♥ 8 is a lucky number! It's best for your monetary gift to start or finish with the number 8 or 80; the number 8 (especially in Chinese culture) is seen to enhance and bring prosperity, success and fortune, along with good luck.
What's the history of the red packet?
At the moment, we still only have assumptions and theories to go off, with some historians and sociocultural anthropologists giving the educated guess that the tradition of the red envelope may have started in Han dynasty China - so about 202BC - 220AD - starting with specially made
coin talismans inscribed with blessings to ward off evil and provide protection. Over the centuries, these talismans became coins tied together on lucky and blessed red thread, to being wrapped in red paper, and finally turned into modern currency placed in a beautiful red envelope.
I've seen other colours used, though - is this still a lucky envelope?
Absolutely! The Japanese custom is to use a white or richly decorated envelope for go-shugi or otoshidama; Hindu populations in Singapore and Malaysia use a purple ang pao or Deepavali ang pao for the festival of Deepavali; and many Muslim families in Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia use solely green envelopes for Eid al-Fitr gifts.
