Lucky Red Envelopes

“An avaricious person is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.” -Chinese proverb

Nevertheless, a laisee always cheers me up. In fact, the upcoming lunar new year (January 31, 2014) has me thinking about these lucky red envelopes. They’re given away on special occasions or holidays (especially the Chinese New Year). For years, fascinated by their beautiful designs, I kept a collection of them. (As you can see, I still have a couple stowed away.)

A few fun facts about the envelopes:

Married people provide them to singles, particularly children
At weddings, a tea ceremony is held (we did this) where the new couple serves tea to the older relatives and receives envelopes in return
There are shorter laisees for coins and bills (use crisp ones!) and longer versions for things like checks

Happy early Chinese New Year!