Chinese New Year Pineapple Ang Pow Lantern

Ong lai! Ong lai! Did you know that the pineapple is known as ong lai in the Hokkien dialect? It also means prosperity comes/brings wealth! This is why we Chinese love to display pineapple ornaments throughout the house/workplace in the hope that it will bring their family/business lots of good fortune for the Chinese New Year.

A few years ago, I wrote a blog on pineapple craft for the Chinese New Year using cut yellow paper with origami leaves. Do check it out if you don’t have any ang pows available to make this pineapple, but still want to make it using paper.

Firstly, remember before we make any ang pow/red envelope craft, you have to select the right design for the ang pow and thickness. Try not to mix different designs together as it won’t look as nice. These ang pows that I bought from Amazon are far too thick, hence there are some damaged corners, which is not ideal for any craft.

This craft will work well with either red or yellow ang pow. Of course, yellow ang pow will look more like a pineapple. You do not need a design on the back of the ang pow. As for thickness, try to get a soft or medium thickness for flexibility.

This Pineapple ang pow lantern measures approximately 28 cm by 18 cm, not including the length of the Chinese knot tassel and string. The rating of difficulty is 3 out of 5, which should take roughly 1 to 2 hours to complete. This craft is suitable for teenagers and adults.

To make this, you will require:

• 24 rectangle ang pows / red envelope (approx. 7.6 cm by 11.5 cm)
• A4 green paper, cut into leaf shapes
• Stapler & staples
• Ruler
• 50 – 60 cm red string
• 1 Chinese knot tassel, secured with paper or tie a big knot (this is to stop it from dropping out)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Find the midpoint of the ang pow by folding the ang pow into half vertically but don’t press the fold all the way down. Instead, just press the two corners of the joint down. This is a marker for later use.

   

2. Next, open the ang pow out again. Then fold the ang pow into half horizontally and again only press the two corners of the joint down. Repeat for the rest of the ang pows. These are markers for later use.

   

3. Now to fold each side of the 24 ang pows – from the midpoint that we found on the ang pow make a fold from the top midpoint to the left midpoint, the left midpoint to the bottom midpoint, the bottom midpoint to the right midpoint and from the right midpoint to the top midpoint. The end result should be four diagonal folds (diamond shape). I use a ruler to help me to fold the corners neatly. Make sure that you fold the back of the ang pow onward to the front of the ang pow.

   
   

4. I am going to start from top to bottom. To create the shape, you will need to staple four ang pows vertically (top). Before stapling the 4^th ang pow to the 1^st ang pow, place the red string with a knot in-between the ang pows.

   
   

5. Staple 4 individual ang pows horizontally as shown.

   
   

6. Follow up with 8 ang pows vertically to form the middle of the body. Before doing so, staple two ang pows together as shown. Repeat three more pairs. Now staple them around the ang pows.

   
   
   

7. Staple 4 individual ang pows horizontally as shown.

   
   

8. Staple four ang pows vertically (bottom). Make sure the image is flush with the top. Before stapling the 4^th ang pow to the 1^st ang pow, add the Chinese knot tassel that is secured with paper or tie a big knot (this is to stop it from dropping out).

   
   
   
   
   

9. Join the bottom ang pows to the top ang pows by stapling them.

   
   

10. Now you will have a pineapple with sharp corners poking out. To make it smooth, take both corners of the same ang pow and staple it together. Bring those corners as close to each other as possible, it will make the pineapple shape look more round.

    

11. For the leaves, use the green paper and cut them into lots of leaf shapes in different shapes and lengths. Staple a few to create the leaves. Now add it onto the top red string by stapling it. I don’t like to use glue as it might drop off after some time.

    

Two lanterns would look great to hang on both sides of the door. It will make a big statement for your house! Hope you all like it! Wish you all a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year 2023!

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