Local Asian artists redesigning red pockets for Lunar New Year

Handing out the lucky red envelopes called Lai See during Lunar New Year has been a tradition for centuries. They symbolize good luck, fortune, health and prosperity. 

But what do the Chinese characters on the pockets mean? Mission: Red Pocket creator Kevin K. Li, along with three local Chinese-Canadian graphic designers, created the first Lai See with Chinese lettering and an English translation on it.

“I received red pockets over many years and there are many Chinese characters on the front and I can’t read it,” said Li.

“I’m only interested in the money inside and not the pocket. In reality, it’s the pocket that’s important.”

Born as a first generation Chinese-Canadian, Li felt his Chinese culture was “quite watered down."

“I wanted something to do. Something small like red pockets to at least translate that for my one-year-old daughter.”

Each red pocket will feature an original art design inspired by the artists’ favourite memory of Lunar New Year. The back of the pocket will have the English translations along with Cantonese and Mandarin phonetics.

One of the designs called “Sun Tai Geen Hong” shows an elderly woman embracing a child inside a heart. The local artist is graphic designer Terry Wong, who wanted to pay homage to his grandmother.

“My grandmother would always give me greetings for health," Wong told CTV News. “She would always tell me every year, health is more important. You can’t enjoy the money if you’re not healthy.”

“I hope that the second generation moving forward will understand the importance of the greetings,” said Li. "We want to make sure we understand our culture and also help others understand our culture as well.”

The red pockets are available for purchase at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre at 168 East Pender Street in Vancouver.

Part of the sales will be donated back to the centre. The red pockets are also available on their website.