What a weekend!! It’s been non-stop eating for the past 3 days, it seems. This weekend was a very special one: Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day rolled into one. It basically spelled 3 days of unfettered feasting and a lot of time together for my family.
It’s a Chinese tradition for elders to give youngsters 紅包, red envelopes, usually containing cash. In addition to the small token 紅包 we gave my parents as a gesture of our filial piety, Joe had the idea of giving my parents a bottle of wine in a “red envelope.”
So I used the instructions from the book One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins and made a little wine bag. Red fabric on the outside, of course, and gold inside. The same fabrics I used for my mother’s table runner - red and gold are very popular, auspicious colors in Chinese culture.
I got to use my embroidery software again to draw out the Chinese lettering. 恭喜發財 (Traditional Chinese characters) or 恭喜发财 (Simplified Chinese characters) is pronounced gong xi fa cai (gong shee fa tsai) in Mandarin and Kung Hei Fat Choy in Cantonese. It’s heard constantly around Chinese New Year celebrations and conveys congratulatory wishes for the new year, and the hope that the upcoming year will bring plenty of fortune.
I will try to adapt the pattern to use a drawstring next time. And will also shift the wording down several inches. But it was a fun gift to whip up for the celebratory season! I suspect my father will quite enjoy the gift inside, too. A bottle of 2005 Four Sons Cabernet Sauvignon - one of our favorite wines of all time!
Happy Year of the Tiger and 恭喜發財 to you all!
