For Chinese children, the arrival of Spring Festival brings with it cash-filled red envelopes, but the practice is putting strain on the wallets of adults.
"My annual bonus stayed in my pocket for less than a week before it went out in the form of red envelopes," said Huang Yijing, a 30-year-old nurse from Shanghai, who forked out at least 1,000 yuan ($160) each to her nephews and nieces and gave 500 yuan or more to her friends' children.
Each Chinese New Year, Huang said she spends more than 5,000 yuan, equivalent to her monthly salary, on (hongbao), the red envelopes filled with money that are traditionally given out on special occasions in China.
She said the practice has always been a source of stress.
"Unlike the traditions tied with the Western festival of Christmas, which allows you to choose a relatively more expensive gift if it's a good year and a cheaper one if it's a bad year, the unwritten rule attached to Chinese hongbao is that the amount of lucky money can either remain unchanged or go up, but definitely won't go down," she said.
A recent survey by Jilin-based newspaper City Evening News found more than 20 percent of 417 interviewees agreed that 1,000 yuan was the bottom line for the red envelope.
Huang said she has developed a system for the amount of money she gives to a child. The number varies according to the recipient's financial status and also depends on how well she knows the child's parents
"On top of that, I'm single with no children and that means I give out lots of red envelopes with nothing in return," she added.
Liu Kuili, honorary president of the China Folklore Society, said the original meaning of the envelope ritual was a New Year blessing passed from the older generation to the young. "Yasuiqian (new year gift money) is this small amount of money that can suppress devils and maintain children in peace and safety for the whole next year," he said.
"However, people have ignored its symbolic meaning nowadays and make the envelope bigger and bigger," said Liu, adding that Singapore has a similar tradition but usually sets the maximum to around 10 Singapore dollars ($8).
Wang Shuqin, a teacher with Kunming's Hongqi Primary School in Yunnan province, said she feels the tradition of giving hongbao has become an inescapable financial liability rather than a symbolic gesture.
Print
Save