The taste of New Year – Chinese New Year money

Are red packets or angpow and Chinese New Year money the same thing?

The Chinese character for “year” (岁) sounds almost the same as the character to mean “evil spirit” or “calamity” (祟) , so Chinese New Year money bears the significance of suppressing evil spirits and calamities. As early as 2,000 years ago, the Han dynasty practised the custom of giving Chinese New Year money which was meant to suppress evil spirits and calamities, but it officially became a Chinese New Year custom during the Qing dynasty.

Who is supposed to give red packets?

Those who are already working can present red packets to elders and children at home as a gesture and wish for good fortune and that everything will go well in the new year.

Those who are married will usually give red packets to those who are unmarried and younger than them.

What are the rules for presenting red packets?

As a general rule, the money inside the red packet should be in the denominations of 6 and 8, the figure 6-6 is considered auspicious to imply the arrival of good things and generating abundant wealth.

For good luck, it is recommended that the red packet should contain physical money and not replaced with something else. For example, e-wallet money is considered lacking in ritual.

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The taste of New Year, the taste of home

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