February 14, 2010 will mark the start of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Chinese New Year is a major Chinese holiday and is typically celebrated with large family gatherings, gift giving, eating of symbolic foods and the display of decorations, all meant to bring good luck for the New Year and to celebrate the arrival of spring.
During Chinese New Year children receive a red envelope containing money as a gift from older family members. Red is considered a lucky color by the Chinese. It is also believed that the red envelope has positive energy that protects people from evil, and that it will bring luck to the giver and to the recipient.
One of my favorite Chinese New Year crafts is making a homemade red envelope and decorating it with Chinese good luck symbols.
Instructions are simple:
Print out this envelope template from Crafty Templates onto red paper. Enlarge the image prior to printing to get a bigger envelope. Alternatively, you can trace and copy this template onto thick red paper such as construction paper. Cut it out.
Fold the left, right and bottom flaps and tape together with a clear tape, or glue together. Leave the upper flap open. Later, you will tuck this flap inside to close the envelope.
Use a thin paintbrush dipped in gold paint, or a gold pen, to draw a good-luck Chinese character on the front of the envelope.
After the paint has dried, place a bill inside the envelope and seal it.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Photo by Silly Jilly
