Photos: Chinese Lucky Red Envelope Designs

. Posted by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

Chinese Red Envelope Design: Year of the Rabbit

Chinese Red Envelope Design

Chinese Red Envelope Design

Chinese Red Envelope Design: Lion Dancer

Chinese Red Envelope Design: Bamboo

Every Chinese New Year, small red envelopes are presented to the young and unmarried with a little bit of money. The color red symbolizes luck and the practice of giving a red envelope (or “Lycee” in Cantonese) is a blessing for the new year and to ward off evil spirits.

The designs vary from traditional imagery (Chinese characters, old paintings, plants, dragons, various animals) to modern cartoons. Metallic gold ink is normally incorporated into the print as a sign of prosperity.

Photos: Burning Spirit Papers for the Dead

. Posted by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

Chinese New Year: Burning Spirit Papers

In the Chinese Taoist tradition, spirit papers (designs symbolizing good will, wealth and material objects) are burned for the ancestors and gods to be used in the spirit world and afterlife. This practice is similar to the tradition of the Ancient Egyptians, who buried objects (and other living souls) with the deceased to travel with them to the afterlife. Burning spirit papers is done primarily around the Lunar New Year, as a homage to the past.