Year of the Water Rabbit – CNY Red Packet

Let’s collectively welcome in the Year of the Water Rabbit for the Lunar New Year of 2023!

Share your blessings with your loved ones with these original design red packets, printed on a gorgeous iridescent paper with gold hot-stamp finish.

This original Rabbit design is inspired by the ancient practice of Chinese paper cutting. Read the full description for the symbolic meaning of red packets, and the Chinese Zodiac.

• 85mm wide X 170mm tall (vertical design).
• Printed on lightweight 157gsm iridescent paper, with gold hot-stamping. (Colours may appear brighter on desktop/mobile screens and due to photography lighting).
• Available in quantities of 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 or 144. Also available at larger quantities at bulk prices. Email me for pricing.
• Limited edition print as well as part of a crazy 12-year project! Save at least one red packet in your collection!

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SYMBOLISM

Red Packet / Red Envelope / Money Packet / Ang Pao / Hong Bao

Red packets (or also known as the many names listed above) are traditionally given in Chinese and most East / South-east Asian cultures as monetary gifts for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, the birth of a baby and most importantly during the Lunar New Year. This practice is normally given by parents or elders to young children, however gifting red packets is a form of goodwill so there’s no stopping you from giving to whomever you’d like.

The colour red for the packets symbolise good luck and are symbolic to warding off evil. In modern times, red packets come in all sorts of colours (besides red) and designs. The tradition of giving red packets is a symbolic way for people to share their blessings and to wish good fortune and prosperity for the receiver. Typically, red packets should contain (money) in even numbers except the number 4, which is considered bad luck (8 on the other hand is an auspicious number). When receiving a red packet, do receive it with both hands and be sure to express your gratitude to the giver.

Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese Zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle with each year being represented by a different animal. An ancient mythology* describes that the order of animals in the 12-year cycle was a result of a great race organised by the Jade Emperor – one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion.

The order of the zodiac is: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. In Chinese astrology, each zodiac sign is also associated with one of the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water – therefore creating five types of each animal with different characteristics.

Do you know your Chinese Zodiac?

The Year of the Water Rabbit

The Rabbit is the fourth animal in the Chinese Zodiac that follows the Tiger. In the race story, the Rat hopped onto the Ox as it was crossing the river, and jumped off it close to the finish line to come into first place and the Ox coming in second. 

The Rabbit and Tiger were both fast and competitive, however the Rabbit fell short after the Tiger, when it had to hop from one stone to another and slipped. Fortunately, there was a floating log, and Rabbit was able to grab onto it, eventually hopping onto land to run to the finish line coming in fourth place.

(*This story is widespread and varies slightly among Chinese mythology).

The Rabbit is known to be the luckiest animal in the Chinese zodiac and a harbinger of good fortune. In Chinese culture, the Rabbit represents the moon. An ancient Chinese legend depicts of a human drinking an exilir of life, becoming a goddess and then flying to the moon with a white rabbit in their arms; therefore associating a spot in the moon to be a white rabbit.

Rabbits symbolise peace, elegance, prosperity, wit, vigilance and fertility. People born in the year of the Rabbit are known to be earnest, charismatic, organised, loyal and adaptable. Their shadow side includes over-cautious, avoiding confrontations, requiring extra reassurance and escapism.

You are born in the year of the Rabbit if you were born in 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023.

Other zodiacs with a high compatability with Rabbits are Goats, Dogs and Pigs.

This year the Lunar New Year falls on Sunday January 22nd 2023. 2023 is the Year of the Water Rabbit and is also the year of shifts and possibilities with calmer energies in comparison to the previous Year of the Tiger. (Note that each Chinese zodiac has a different energy in correlation with the corresponding year)