Chinese Folk Religion Lunar New Year's Envelope

This is a Chinese envelope used to contain money in celebration of the Lunar New Year in the Chinese Folk Religion. Such envelopes are always red.

As part of the celebration, dancers perform the Lion Dance. Performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume wearing a papier mache mask with bulging eyes and fur around its mouth. A mirror on the forehead is to scare away demons who are frightened of their own reflections.  

During the Chinese New Year, Lion Dance troupes from the Chinese martial arts schools or Chinese guilds and associations will visit the houses and shops of the Chinese community to perform the traditional custom of "cai ching," which means "plucking the greens." The "lion" plucks the auspicious green tied to a red envelope containing money.

Chinese folk religion is a polytheistic religion, a mixture of China's three main religions: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Inside a typical temple, for example, may be found a Buddhist bodhisattva and a Taoist god. Worship in Chinese temples usually consists of making offerings to the various gods, spirits and ancestors.

Gods can be associated with natural phenomena, for instance, a god of the sea or fire. Practitioners of Chinese folk religion may worship important historical personages like generals. Chinese people also worship their early ancestors, an important part of Confucianism, by having ancestral shrines. Mythological stories help explain the creation of the universe, the origin of the human race, and important skills like medicine-making. As one of the most important creatures in Chinese mythology, Chinese dragons play a decisive role in these stories.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_dance http://home.worldonline.nl/~rlion/lkdancee.htm
https://interfaith.wisc.edu/2022/12/10/the-state-of-religion-in-china-and-chinese-folk-religion-jiaming-xie/
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/08/30/confucianism-taoism-and-chinese-folk-religions/#:~:text=It is an essential component,making wishes