SINGAPORE: The Singapore Buddhist Lodge (SBL) held its 77th Hong Bao Distribution Ceremony on Saturday (Jan 11), with nearly 12,000 beneficiaries receiving hong bao worth $1.3 million.
Attending the ceremony was Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing, who was the occasion’s guest of honour.
Mr Chan officiated the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Donor Plaque Pavilion at 9:00 on Saturday morning, and shortly afterwards, the Hong Bao Distribution Ceremony began. The minister gave a speech and participated in the distribution of red envelopes.
In a social media post, the organisation said that SBL has more than 11,990 beneficiaries this year. Among them, 3,770 recipients received invitations to the ceremony to receive gift bags and $300 in hong bao.
The lay Buddhist organisation was founded in 1934 and is one of Singapore’s oldest charities.
From Monday (Jan 13) to Friday (Jan 18), SBL staff and volunteers will go to 50 residences for the elderly. They will distribute a $20 hong bao each, as well as oranges and other traditional gifts, to more than 8,200 individuals there.
“Since 1949, SBL has been dedicated to helping the less privileged in society, regardless of race or religion.
We strive to create a warmer, more harmonious, and inclusive community through love, compassion and care,” the charity said, adding that it wished “everyone a joyful, peaceful, and prosperous New Year filled with blessings and growth in wisdom!”
According to a report in The New Paper (TNP), this year’s hong bao is $100,000 more than SBL gave out in 2024. Additionally, in the 77 years that the organization has given out hong bao, SBL has had more than 300,000 beneficiaries for donations totalling more than $20 million.
In 1949, SBL gave its beneficiaries $2 each, an amount that has increased substantially over the years.
For 2025, the president of SBL, Tan Lee Huak, said that hong bao increased this year in part due to inflation being affected by uncertainties across the globe, including conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, as well as extreme weather events.
He added that SBL’s care and support for the disadvantaged “remains a resolute mission passed down through generations,” added TNP.
“In Singapore, we never define our success just by how well we did for ourselves. We always define our success by how able we are to take care of the weakest, the least, the smallest among us,” Mr Chan said in his speech.
This year’s ceremony was organised by the SBL’s Welfare Foundation and co-organised by Jamiyah Singapore and the Singapore Taoist Federation. /TISG