Chinese usually spend about thousands ringgit for Chinese New Year celebration. In addition to buying new things, giving angpau is such a huge expenditure. The value of angpau is a symbol of blessing and it is a traditional custom, while the money is just an extra bonus.
Fuwi Teo (49) said, he spent more than thousand ringgit for giving out angpau during Chinese New Year while there was some people complaint about the amount of money contained in the angpau.
“I heard that my daughter-in-law complaint about the money of angpau which was received by her children. It will become a critical issue if this condition continues in the future as younger will be influenced and leading them to care about the money,” Yong Yoon Lee (65) said.
Giving angpau is a Chinese tradition for Chinese New Year. Normally, angpau with lucky money inside were distributed to the young by elders. The red color of the angpau symbolizes good luck and Chinese believe it can ward off evil spirits.
 |
| A well design angpau attract attention of people while some people like to collect it. |
Reporter had collected an informal statistics from 10 teenagers who are between 19 to 23 years old. This statistic showed that 70% of teenagers do not care how much containing in an angpau, while 30% of people care it. It combined a mixed reaction from teenagers.
“When I still young, I did not really care about the money, but when I grew up, I started to care about it because I realized that money was so important,” Yap Chew Yee.
“Angpau is a symbolism of lucky only, how much is it does not a matter. Money is nothing,” Phoon Chee Woh.
“If I know the person has financial problem, he don’t give me angpau I also don’t mind. However, if someone I am not sure about his financial situation, I will mind as I already grew up but why still giving me RM2,” Wah Yoon Hoe.
“For me, the amount is not important, unless I can gather with my relatives and friends in Chinese New Year,” Phing Chee Yong.
“As I think angpau is only a tradition, people give angpau to children is like giving away their wishes, so what matter is not how much money is given but the heart,” Eloise Lee.
“If I want money, I can work to earn it and no need others give me. The meaning of angpau is blessing but not asking us to become a greedy person,” Loke Pei Ting.
Fortunately, most of the Malaysian teenagers understand the meaning of giving angpau and they are not really care about the amount of money contained in the angpau. This is a good phenomenon that should be maintained and let more people realize the meaning of receiving angpau.
See also:
Teenagers Get Away from Chinese Cultural Heritage
Expensive New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year Traditional Cultural
A Word A Blessing
Video: Chinese New Year Traditional CustomSee also:
Teenagers Get Away from Chinese Cultural Heritage
Expensive New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year Traditional Cultural
A Word A Blessing
Quite interesting topic, at least I can know what are the teenagers' views about the Angpau money.
ReplyDelete