There’s a whole lot to know if you’re going to celebrate Chinese New Year properly, and this year I plan on doing everything by the book and sticking as close to tradition as possible, partly to teach my little girl this side of her heritage and partly to finally satisfy the curiosity I’ve had for it all these decades. So, join me as I explain every Chinese New Year tradition that’s about to take over the city.
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Red hongbao envelopes bring an extra sprinkle of joy to the Chinese New Year festivities! Beyond their bright hues and charming designs, these little red packets are the real MVPs of the celebration, capturing the essence of generosity by literally putting a price on your feelings. This is your last chance to participate in this year’s hongbao survey, where we poll the Beijing community on how much money to stuff into everyone’s hongbao before we announce the results next week.
In the meantime, don’t just give a basic hongbao – give it in style! Check out this year’s coolest hongbao designs and where you can get them. Plus, scroll to the end for our recommendation of a Chinese New Year gift for kids that doesn’t involve handing over any cash to them at all.
This hongbao envelope is possibly the simplest design we’re recommending. Since it’s the Year of the Dragon, this one’s just got a dragon on it. It’s festive, it shows you put some effort into your hongbao, and it doesn’t need to be stuffed with hundreds and thousands of RMB.
If you’re a foodie, this one is for you! These hongbao are designed as traditional CNY bento boxes, and you open them by opening the lid. How cute!
At first, this one didn’t seem that cool. It looks like a box that’s shaped like a gold brick. But to get the money out, you roll it on a flat surface, and the money gets laid out in front of you like a neat stack of poker cards.
These two options are for the super-patient people who love to fold paper. One is shaped like traditional Chinese New Year firecrackers, while the other is a traditional Chinese qian used for fortune telling. Each qian is meant to symbolize a good wish for the coming year.
Our last two hongbao recommendations are for those who love arts and crafts. The first is a lantern, a traditional part of CNY decor. This lantern, however, is filled with money!
And our last one is a bit of a toss-up, but since the design is so cool, I thought I’d share it anyway. In Chinese culture, fans are one of those things you never give to friends and family because the Chinese word for fan also sounds like the word for scatter. Giving a fan to someone carries a double meaning that the relationship is ending. So, I was surprised to see this design for Chinese New Year. Bad luck or not, you’ve got to admit that it looks pretty cool.
Finally, one of the coolest CNY gifts for kids this year (aside from being handed a hongbao full of cash) is the Kinder chocolate fu. The company has adapted the idea of an advent calendar and made one for CNY. It’s a beautiful design that you can hang up at home, and starting two weeks leading up to the big day, kids can open up one box a day to find a daily chocolatey treat.
The Kinder CNY calendar begins from Jan 26, so order yours as early as you can if you’re going to follow the dates.
Images: Taobao
