Greetings, manners and hospitalityEast AsiaShinto, Taoist and folk ChineseMuslim
Red envelope
In its own language: 紅包 / 红包 (hóngbāo)
Money in a red packet, given at Lunar New Year, weddings and other big days
The red envelope is a small red packet holding money, given as a gift at Chinese New Year, weddings, graduations and birthdays, and to guests as a welcome. The custom began in China and spread with Chinese communities across Southeast Asia, and since the mid-2010s it also exists in digital form inside messaging apps.
When is Red envelope marked?
Red envelope is kept as part of Lunar New Year, which runs from 7 to 21 February 2027.
The red envelope is a small packet, usually red, holding money. It is handed over at Chinese New Year, at weddings, graduations and birthdays, and to guests as a welcome. The colour is taken to bring good luck and to keep harm away. The custom began in China and travelled with Chinese communities across Southeast Asia and further afield.
What it is
A red envelope is a small paper packet with money inside, given as a present. Red is the colour of good fortune in Chinese practice, and the packet is meant to carry luck to the person who receives it. The money is usually handed over by someone older to someone younger, at Chinese New Year, at a wedding, on a graduation day or on a birthday. Guests may also be given one as a welcome. The custom belongs to Chinese communities first of all, and has moved with them into many parts of Asia. Since the middle of the 2010s a version is sent through phone messaging apps instead.
Origins and history
The oldest form of the custom is traced to the Han dynasty, when a special coin called yasheng qian was made with lucky words on it, such as a wish for a long and successful life, and was thought to guard against illness and death. In Tang times, elders marked the start of spring by giving children money to keep harm away. Under the Song and Yuan, coins were threaded on a red string. Ming and Qing records describe coins on red string and pouches full of coins. The name yasui qian appears in the Qing dynasty. From 1912 to 1949 the gift became coins wrapped in red paper, and later banknotes.
How it is given
In southern China the envelopes go from married people to unmarried people, most of them children, during Chinese New Year. Across the north and the south, elders give them to those under 25, or under 30 in most of the three north-eastern provinces, whether or not the receiver is married. A young person may bow, in the kowtow, to say thank you. It is thought polite to leave the packet closed while older relatives are watching. In Hong Kong they are opened on the seventh day of the lunar new year or after it. Employers hand them to staff, and in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macao people give them to guards, cleaners, helpers and doormen.
Amounts and manners
Amounts follow Chinese ideas about numbers. An even figure is usual, and odd sums are linked with funerals, though nine is allowed because it sounds like the word for long and is the biggest single digit. Some parts of China and the diaspora prefer odd amounts at weddings, since they cannot be split evenly. The number four is avoided, and sums such as 40, 400 or 444 are not used, because four sounds like death. Fresh notes are preferred, so queues form at banks before the new year. At a wedding banquet the gift is meant to cover the cost of the guest's place and to wish the couple well; the sums are written in a ledger for the couple.
Beyond China
Chinese families elsewhere have their own forms. In Vietnam the money is called lì xì, and children receive it at Tet with a greeting that wishes health and long life. In Cambodia it is ang pav, kept near a child's bed or under a pillow during the holiday. In the Philippines, Filipino-Chinese exchange ang pao, and the custom has spread to families with no Chinese background. Korean families use a pouch, the bokjumeoni, and Japanese children get otoshidama in white or decorated envelopes. Malay Muslims in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore give money in green envelopes at Eid al-Fitr, and Indian Hindus in Singapore and Malaysia use ang pow at Deepavali.
How Red envelope is kept
A giver puts new banknotes in a red packet. The packet is handed over at a family gathering, a wedding banquet, a birthday or a graduation. A younger receiver may kowtow in thanks, and the packet is usually left closed in front of older relatives. At Chinese New Year the envelopes pass from married to unmarried people and from elders to children. Employers give them to workers, and householders give them to security guards, cleaners and helpers. Couples keep a record of wedding gifts. In Hong Kong the packets are opened from the seventh day of the lunar new year onwards.
When and where
The main time is Chinese New Year, whose date follows the lunar calendar and so falls in late January or in February. Outside that season the envelopes belong to weddings, graduations and birthdays, and in Singapore and Malaysia to the first days of the lunar new year. Green envelopes are given at Eid al-Fitr and purple ones at Deepavali.
The custom is strongest in China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and among Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. It also travels with Chinese families to Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and further afield. Malay Muslim families in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore use a green form at Eid, and Indian Hindu families in Singapore and Malaysia a purple one at Deepavali.
What Red envelope means
Red stands for good fortune and is believed to hold harm at bay, so the packet carries a blessing as well as money. The older name for new year money, yasui qian, means money that wards off old age, and the gift is a way of protecting the young. Giving also marks the bond between generations: elders provide, children receive, and the married pass on what they were once given. Fresh notes and carefully chosen amounts are a mark of respect for the person receiving.
Days Red envelope is marked
Questions people ask about Red envelope
When is Red envelope marked?
Red envelope is kept as part of Lunar New Year, which runs from 7 to 21 February 2027.
What is a red envelope?
It is a small packet, usually red, with money inside. It is given as a present at Chinese New Year, at weddings, graduations and birthdays, and to guests as a welcome. The colour is held to bring good luck and to keep harm away.
Why is the colour red?
Red is the colour of good fortune in Chinese practice, and the envelope is meant to carry luck and to keep evil spirits away. Other communities that took up the custom use their own colour: green for Eid al-Fitr and purple for Deepavali.
How much money goes inside?
The amount is the giver's choice, but even numbers are usual and fours are avoided, because four sounds like the word for death. Nine is acceptable, and at weddings the sum is often meant to cover the cost of the guest's meal. New notes are preferred.
Can red envelopes be sent by phone?
Yes. From the mid-2010s messaging apps added a digital version, and WeChat Pay was first to make it popular during the 2014 Chinese New Year. Users can send money to one person or share it in a group.
See also
ManoA Filipino greeting where a younger person bows and asks an elder for a blessing
DiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.
Christmas EveThe evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Good reading and sources
- Why this Chinese New Year will be a digital money festBBC, Article
- More e-hongbao gifted in 2024; trend expected to continue this yearThe Straits Times, Article
- Why this Chinese New Year will be a digital money festBBC, Article
- More e-hongbao gifted in 2024; trend expected to continue this yearThe Straits Times, Article
- Red envelope on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Red envelope", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.
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