The tradition of New Year greetings in China dates back to the Han dynasty. People began writing their names and information on long bamboo or wood sticks called ming ci.

While people in modern times send new year greetings easily on social network apps, in ancient times it was a much more complicated ritual. In China, the origin of delivering new year greeting cards can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). During that time, people began making name cards, writing their name, age, hometown, official position, personal statement on long bamboo or wood sticks. These sticks were called ming ci. The character ming means “name”, and ci is literally...