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.