A post for my cousins Dilys and Lynette…
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Chinese New Year falls on 31st January 2014!
To celebrate the Year of the Horse, we’ll be making Chinese lanterns to decorate our house, and to share with the neighbours. Here’s a tutorial I wrote a few years ago for a very simple lantern – it’s easy to make and only requires 12 red packets, a bit of string, and a stapler.
A little history on the red envelopes – the tradition at Chinese New Year is to put money inside these ang pow (as we call them) and to give them to children for good luck. They’re also used for gifting cash at birthdays and weddings.
In Asia, the banks hand them out freely, and this year I’ve used gorgeous embossed craft paper ones that my sister sent me…
Ang pow wrappers are usually available in Chinese grocery stores, but if you can’t find any, red cardboard should work just as well…
Lanterns are great fun to make and add a little festive cheer to the house during the Chinese New Year period. I don’t make them every year, but I enjoy it so much when I do that they always end up on our blog!
Here are my earlier lantern posts:
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Celia, when I was studying Mandarin a few years ago, we went through a huge lesson on the Chinese lanterns and the red envelope to get the money gift. Unfortunately I forgot almost all my Mandarin now, but for some reason I remember the second word as “bao” – the first one totally escapes me.
ang pow – is it pinyin for Mandarin or some other Chinese dialect?
gosh, you have no idea (well, maybe you do) how much I miss studying Chinese… I don’t see that in my near future, and it’s something I am very very sad about
“Ang Pow” is what we call them in Hokkien – Ang = red, pow = packet
You so loved your Mandarin, I hope you get a chance to get back into it one day. You were very good! :)
GOT IT! Went searching in my files, and in Mandarin it is hong bao (so my recollection of the “bao” was it!)
G’day! Love Chinese lanterns and this year, Chinese New Year falls on my 50th birthday!
The lanterns have a special significance Celia going back to my childhood in New York! Thanks for making me smile today!
Ooh that’s exciting, Joanne! An extra special day for you then! You can pretend all the celebration and street marches are in your honour! :) PS. Hope you’re surviving the heat ok.. xx
I adore red. red lanterns too! Did you ever see that movie Raise The Red Lantern.. brilliant.. terrifying.. c
Celi, no, I’ve never seen it. But if it terrified you, I’m not sure I’m game! xxx
These are gorgeous! (Grabby hands!)
And secondly I am full of delight because I’m back on your news feed that stopped for a while for some reason. It’s one of the mysteries of the internet. Applause from Maz. :-)
Maz, do you have a Chinese New Year page on your website? I’d love to decorate my mother’s festive table! And I’m not sure what happened to your feed, sorry – unfortunately as my blog is hosted by WP, I don’t have any control over that bit of it!
Oh, I wish you could see the magnificent paper and designs on the red packets I have here – they’re all thick and embossed!
I don’t have a Chinese New Year on thetoymaker.com. Though it’s something I’ve been pondering for years. Those envelopes do look scrumptious! Warm hugs, Maz. <3
Very clever and very cheery, Celia!
Thanks hon, just a bit of fun! x
Too early to wish you and yours a very happy New Year!! And tho’ I am pretty good withy my hands, don’t quite know about the beautiful red lanterns . . . a wonderful learning experience meanwhile :) !
Thanks Eha! These are fun to make! :)
I’ve literally just come back from the supermarket with red envelopes and lanterns to hang around the house (which my husband will hate!) There’s nothing as pretty as these though in the shops.
Nancy, maybe you should make some? You must have all the supplies readily available. I’m sorry your hubby won’t like all the decorations – I think they’re great fun! :)
My daughter-in-law would love these. She always says how much she’d like to visit her family in Taiwan during New Year. I’ll point her to this page. :)
Maureen, I hope she enjoys making them! It must be hard to be homesick at New Year.. xx
I like any excuse to get crafty and decorate the house Celia!
Claire, I hope you’re well darling, you must be getting very tired feet by now! That in itself is a good excuse to get off your feet and do something crafty! :)
Very pretty and so intricate Celia. Will you be posting any yummy Chinese New Year recipes? (pretty please) xox
I don’t think so hon, sorry. We don’t do anything particularly special – it’s more about family getting together than anything else!
Delightful, thank you. I’ll have a go at this.
Peter, I hope you have fun making them! :)
For a moment I thought you meant those horrible Chinese lanterns that people light and watch float into the night (with no regard to what happens when they come down), which should be banned. These look much, much better and must make the house look bright and cheerful.
I am SO glad you said that. I’m a big River Cottage fan, but I was SO appalled when I saw them just letting those lit candles float off. Over here, you’d start a bushfire that could take out a town. These stay inside, without a flame in them, I promise! :)
Beautiful lanterns! Maybe I should make some again this year. Chinese New Year is on my birthday this year!
Manuela, you and Joanne (above) have the same birthday! Hope it’s a wonderful one! :)
Great idea!! How funny I had just left a comment on your previous post, talking about CNY crafts. :-D
My office has just removed all the Christmas decorations. Maybe time for some CNY ones instead. Have a great weekend!
Saucy, hope you have fun making these! We always do! :)
Hi Celia, these look great I will make them today. Goodness Chinese New Year is not far away! We have dinner at my parents and it’s a very special time, can’t wait.
Stefanie, I’m going to try another fancy lantern this year – just building up my chi before I get started! :D
I love these posts; the lanterns always look so lovely and festive. We spend Chinese New Year with some Chinese friends and their family and I always wonder what is an appropriate gift. This year I’m going to see if I can make these well enough to proffer as a gift.
Jan, it would be a great gift! You should be able to get the red packet wrappers from Chinese grocery stores, or failing that, from some of the Asian banks… (let me know if you can’t find them, and I’ll send you some). x
I tried these before and although they were all right- they were no where near your beautiful work. You have a real knack for paper crafts, Celia! Lovely!
Heidi, our lovely friend Peter Bryenton made the most wonderful lamp shade cover following this pattern – I think he used cardboard. From memory, you said you used origami paper last time, but that’s too thin – the red envelopes are quite sturdy. Red cardboard or coloured (mailing) envelopes would work better!
These are beautiful! I have a huge collection of money envelopes so I am always looking for ideas.
KJ, thanks for stopping by! Hope you have fun with these! :)
These lanterns are so pretty and I loved your tutorial, which makes something that looked too intricate for me into something achievable! January is going by pretty quickly, so it’s nice to have Chinese New Year to look forward to.
Danielle, I hope you get a chance to try and make some. They’re very pretty! Thanks for always stopping by, it’s always so nice to hear from you! :)
Those are so cool Celia & I’m glad you explained the history behind the lanterns. I never knew that the Chinese New Year date changes but I’ll be glad when January is done with us here in New England.
Oooh, sounds like you’ve had a hard time with the weather, Di. I hope it eases soon.. xx
You might not have heard about New England weather – if you don’t like it, just wait a few minutes and it will change. It does make life interesting. The only one who really loves that white stuff out there is Lola – I can’t get her to come back inside without tempting her with treats. During our last storm, the snow came down so fast & heavy that I couldn’t see her out there & then, so of like an apparition, this big black furry thing just rose up with 6″ of snow on top of her.