For love and money(1)
The tradition of giving relatives' children envelopes of cash during Spring Festival persists because of the affections it conveys. Wang Kaihao reports.
This will be the last year Anhui province native Huang Qingqian will get envelopes of cash from her relatives during the Spring Festival. The 23-year-old will leave her hometown, the provincial capital Hefei, to work in a bank in Shanghai. Local tradition dictates that those who earn their own money don't receive the red envelopes, called "hongbao", during the Lunar New Year. While the ancient custom was perhaps born at least partly out of economic traditions, it has survived until the present day largely because of the affections it represents. Huang got 25,000 yuan ($3,964) - a handsome sum, indeed - because she studied in Britain and didn't return for Spring Festival in 2011.
So her relatives wanted to make up for the lost time and money, she explains.
Her extended family is scattered throughout Anhui, so the festival is a "precious opportunity for a family reunion", Huang says. "Red envelopes are just a sideshow of the celebration."
This attitude seems to have been passed down by Huang's mother, Wang Lingxiang.
"Giving red envelopes is a way to maintain relationships with relatives we don't see that often," the 47-year-old engineer says.
Often, the money flows throughout the family, rather than remaining in the possession of the person to whom it's given.
That's why Huang jokes: "I only get to keep the cash for two minutes. Then, my parents pass it on to our relatives' kids."
Huang says her relatives gave 200 yuan ($32) to every child five years ago but now give 10 times that.
"We don't care how much money it is," she says.
"It's about the affection it represents."
