9 hongbaos to sow the Gospel this Chinese New Year

Peck Sim // January 11, 2025, 10:33 pm

ChezHemdi's hongbao featuring the life of Jesus offers a tool to share the Gospel and a tool to share Jesus' story and to do personal Bible study. Photo by ChezHemdi.

Tell the story of Jesus but don’t use a Bible.

ChezHemdi has found a way to do it with a hongbao (red packet).

This year, ChezHemdi founder Hemdi Umanee and her husband Peter Hui landed on the idea of telling the full story of the life of Jesus by illustrating on a hongbao 80 key moments from His life: His ministry, teachings, miracles, and ultimately His sacrifice and resurrection.

“We love how Chinese New Year is all about new beginnings, hope, and blessings—things that tie so beautifully to Jesus’ story.”

“As we prayed and planned, we knew it couldn’t stop at just the highlights of Jesus’ life,” Hemdi said. “We wanted this hongbao to tell a richer story.”

The couple hopes the hongbao will be a reminder of the blessings and new beginnings that Jesus brings, and that the one receiving it will carry His light and love into the new year.

ChezHemdi is one of many companies – including AlyLetters, The Commandment Co., The Glorious Letterings and Rey’s Little Loft – that have turned hongbaos into a channel to sow Gospel seeds and speak God’s blessings over others this Chinese New Year.

“Words are powerful; they’re not just for decoration, but can speak to our hearts and remind us of what’s true,” said Christina Koh, founder and designer of The Glorious Letterings. “Jesus said we don’t live on bread alone but on every word that comes from God, and we need His Word to renew our minds each day.”

Here are nine hongbaos made to inspire hope and spark conversations about Jesus.

1. Share the life of Jesus: ChezHemdi

“We love how Chinese New Year is all about new beginnings, hope, and blessings – things that tie so beautifully to Jesus’ story,” founder Hemdi told Salt&Light.

“His birth brought hope into the world, His teachings showed us how to live, and His sacrifice gave us the ultimate blessing of eternal life.”

Following on their wildly successful debut with the 37 miracles of Jesus hongbao, Hemdi and Peter, the illustrator, set out to create something this time that would facilitate sharing the Gospel in a creative way.

Can you spot Jesus? This hongbao features 80 key events in Jesus’s life: His ministry, sacrifice and resurrection. Photo by ChezHemdi.

“By including these life events (of Jesus), our hope is more people will be inspired to use this as a tool to share His story and the hope it brings.”

The couple has injected fun into the giving and receiving of their hongbaos by “hiding” Jesus in the illustration for a game of “spot the Saviour”.

“We hope to bring families and friends together as they connect over the story of Jesus this Chinese New Year,” she said.

ChezHemdi has released a limited edition electric blue version of the hongbao for use throughout the year.

The ChezHemdi hongbaos are available in red or blue. $10 for a pack of 8. Click here to purchase.

2. Catch the eye with Chinese silk: AlyLetters

These stunning Chinese silk hongbaos by AlyLetters in luxurious gold and vibrant red are designed to capture first the eye, then the heart.

These gold-stamped Chinese silk hongbaos are designed to captivate recipients’ eyes and heart. Photo by AlyLetters.

“I love gifting these hongbaos not just to loved ones, but to the security, cleaning and service staff I come across,” Alicia Choo, the name behind AlyLetters told Salt&Light. Aly has found that when people receive these hongbaos, they take a closer look and read the verse.

This typically kick starts a conversation about the verse, laying the groundwork for relationship building, Aly explained.

Words are powerful—they’re not just for decoration, but can speak to our hearts and remind us of what’s true.

The verse reference is included discreetly and the back of the hongbao is left blank for you to craft personal messages.

Aly designed these envelopes to bless and encourage recipients with Biblical promises. And these hongbaos are not just great for CNY but for weddings, birthdays, and just-because days.

AlyLetters’ 2025 “Surely Goodness” silk hongbaos are priced at $16 for a bundle of 10 (bundle discounts available till January 24). Click here to purchase.

3. Make it personal with hand lettering: The Glorious Letterings

Each of The Glorious Letterings’ hand-lettered hongbao is handcrafted from scratch, including the cutting and assembly, on paper and colours selected by designer Christina.

She personally picked verses that would resonate with both believers and pre-believers. The words are debossed in gold.

Handcrafted hongbaos featuring debossed wordings, verses that appeal to both believers and pre-believers. Photo by The Glorious Letterings.

“Simple phrases like ‘Love never fails’ and ‘It is more blessed to give’ carry timeless truth,” Christina explained. Others like “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” and “Blessed are those who fear the Lord” hold deep personal meaning for the designer as she realised that a closer walk with God starts with trusting Him and learning to fear Him.

“As we step into a new year, I hope that these verses remind us to continually trust God and live in greater surrender,” Christina told Salt&Light.

She conceptualised these gold hand-lettered hongbaos to plug a gap in the local market where hand-lettered hongbaos are rare.

Because these hongbaos are handcrafted, pre-orders are required. Customisation options are available.

Each set ($25) consists of 6 handcrafted hongbaos. Pre-order by January 20 here.

4. Spring blooms all year round: Rey’s Little Loft

Why stop at Chinese New Year? Joanne Toh’s answer to versatile gifting comes in these cheery hongbaos sporting blossom doodles in spring-coloured pastels.

A collaboration with artist Doodled by Oli, Rey’s Little Loft’s hongbaos provide the opportunity to bless the recipient with the word of God all year, not just during Chinese New Year.

A collaboration with Doodle by Oli, these hongbaos featuring spring blooms are owner Joanne Toh’s answer to year-long gifting. Photo by Rey’s Little Loft.

“Whether used as a bookmark or displayed somewhere meaningful, I want them to inspire hope and remind people that even in life’s hard pathways, God’s abundance overflows,” Jo told Salt&Light.

Jo, in her 30s, started Rey’s Little Loft two years ago to create products that inspire families to draw closer to Him.

These hongbaos are available in Chinese, English and bilingual text, $12 for 16 hongbaos, or $22 for 32. Click here to buy.

5. Celebrate the Everlasting God: The Commandment Co.

This year’s hongbao collection from The Commandment Co. celebrates the everlasting God by highlighting His eternal promises and grace.

The 2025 series features five motifs inspired by His blessings: Everlasting Blessings (福), Everlasting Joy (乐), Everlasting Peace (安), Everlasting Grace 恩, Everlasting Love 爱

This series celebrates the everlasting God by highlighting God’s eternal promises and grace. Photo by The Commandment Co.

The hongbaos open up to be used as door or wall decor.

Available in 5 designs, $7.90 for a set of 10. Purchase them here.

6. Gift Bible blessings: Parable Gifts

Inspired by an article in Thir.st, Mark Tang, owner of Parable Gifts based this limited series of traditional Chinese New Year blessings on Bible verses.

Customary hongbaos that convey traditional blessings from the Bible. Photo by Parables Gifts.

Mark’s prayer is that every occasion becomes an opportunity to evangelise, especially during the time of Chinese New Year, when customary red packets can convey not just our blessing but even more from Jesus.

Available in 3 designs, $7.90 for a set of 10. Click here to buy.

7. Look to the true treasure: The Treasure Box

There is no occasion like Chinese New Year when it comes to prosperity, whether gauged by gifts or things owned or topics discussed.

“Trust in self and what we can achieve by our own strengths, talents and abilities is a pervasive idea, often highlighted during this festive season,” observed Esther Foong, co-founder and designer who owns The Treasure Box with her husband Elvin.

Esther picked two verses and images by Mei Hui for this year’s design that are stark reminders that one is to ultimately look to God and trust in His providence and sovereignty:

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6) and “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).

These verses and images illustrated by Mei Hui serve as reminders of God’s power and sovereignty. Photo by Treasure Box.

⁠”For pre-believers, it’s an opportunity to introduce them to a God whose tender care and loving provision are part of His divine nature,” Esther added.

1 pack of 6 hongbaos at $6.00, 2 packs at $10.

The hongbaos are available from January 20 online or in store at The Ink Room at City Harvest Church (Level 6 Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hall 605 during weekend services) and For the One (9 King Albert Park, #01-70, Singapore 598332)

8. Foster renewal and generosity: Cornerstone Community Church

Cornerstone’s 2025 hongbao series showcases themes of joy, blessings, abundance, and spring that symbolises hope, prosperity, and new beginnings.

“The hongbaos are more than just a gift—they’re a meaningful expression of love and gratitude this festive season,” said Tan Rui Ping, media director at Cornerstone.

Every hongbao comes with a Scripture blessing inscribed inside the packet. Photo by Cornerstone Community Church

No worries with money falling out of these hongbaos, which feature a self-locking mechanism. Each design comes with a Scripture blessing inscribed within the packet.

Available in 4 designs. $8.80 for a pack of 8. Buy them online or in store at Faithworks Bookstore (11 East Coast Rd, #02-22 The Odeon, Singapore 428722)

9. Pray for someone: Bethesda Bedok Tampines Church

Bethesda Bedok Tampines Church (BBTC) brings back its “Can I pray for you?” hongbaos with a refreshed design.

BBTC rolled out this hongbao last year in a bid to foster prayer as a lifestyle. These hongbaos were employed extensively as a tool to offer prayers as a blessing in addition to the tradition of gifting money.

Hundreds of prayers were offered and made for pre-believers over the Chinese New Year period last year thanks to these hongbaos. Photo by author.

Several church members have shared testimonies of how they used this very practical and timely tool to pray for and to share the love of God with hundreds of pre-believers.

One church member used the hongbao to bless a homeless lady who had been sleeping at the void deck. The door was open for her to pray for the lady, who received Jesus into her heart.

The hongbao is available for purchase at the BBTC lobby (300 Bedok North Avenue 3, Singapore 469717) following its worship services on Saturday and Sunday.