A monetarygift given in Chinese and other Asian societies, usually during holidays (especially Chinese New Year) or on special occasions, such as births or weddings. Often presented in a small decorative envelope, often red with gold accents, symbolizing luck and wealth and prompting its common English name of the "red envelope".
It may be depicted in artwork as a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, or festive themes. It could be shown being exchanged between characters, held in their hands, or featured as part of a cultural or holiday-themed scene.
The Chinese character 福 (fortune) is often found on the front of a hongbao. Other characters that may appear include 囍, 財, 賀 and 春. Occasionally some of these characters can be found upside down as a play on the word "to arrive" (pronounced the same as "upside down"). Characters are almost always written in Traditional Chinese for aesthetic reasons.
Despite the name, the "red envelope" can be found in other colors such as gold (second most common color) or pink. Whites and blacks are avoided as predominant colors though, as these are considered funeral colors.
Mandarin: 紅包 (Traditional) / 红包 (Simplified) (Hong-Bao) Min Nan/Hokkien: 紅包 (Ang-Pow or Ang-Pao) Cantonese: 利事 (Lai-See)
Examples
Multiple different designs and common Chinese characters
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