But this year, a record number of these red envelopes will be digital and sent online over social messaging services such as Tencent's WeChat, usually via smartphone.
The numbers are breathtaking.
Over the six-day Chinese Spring Festival period last year, 516 million people sent and received 32 billion digital red envelopes - 10 times the number as over the same period in 2015.
And this year forecasters are expecting up to 100 billion digital envelopes to be sent and received by Chinese well-wishers around the world.
It's a vivid illustration of how the world of money is changing, given that we can now send money to each other as easily as sending an email or text.
Global research firm Ovum thinks the value of these mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payments could top $270bn (£214bn) worldwide in 2019.
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