SINGAPORE: With the Chinese New Year just around the corner, working adults have started giving children hongbao (red packets) as part of the tradition. However, with one distraught daughter, it was the other way around. Her mother wants the money from the hongbao her daughter got from others instead.
The mother’s reasoning was that “her relatives were the ones who gave her (daughter) the red packet, as she (mother) gave their (relative’s) kids red packets also, so indirectly, the money came from her (mother).” As such, “she wants the money back and has been harping on it,” user pinkpolkadog wrote on the subreddit r/askSingapore on Sunday (Jan 21).
The post caught many Singaporeans’ attention and sparked a lively debate on the social media site. Some users supported the mother, arguing that she must have been having financial difficulties, while others sided with the daughter, accusing the mother of being a cheapskate.
One Reddit user shared that she used to pass the monetary gifts to her parents and only kept the ones given to her by her parents and grandparents.
“When I was a kid, I only get to keep the red packets given by my parents and grandparents. Everything else I’ll pass to my parents. Because we’re poor and these cover the red packets that my parents give out to other people. Maybe your mother really financially tight and need the money for household expenses.”
Someone else also mentioned that she had a similar experience in the past, and it turned out that her parents had placed all the money in a bank account, which they later gave to her when she got older.
“My parents last time took my ang bao money. when I’m older I asked them, they told me they actually saved it and put it in a bank account for me. Everything I had was returned to me, they didn’t took a single cent from it.”
While another commented, “lol your mom damn cheapskate. So sorry for you. But then again, you should then tell her you are not going to cny anymore because you don’t get your red packet.”
Hongbao (Lucky Money)
In Chinese tradition, the hongbao (Mandarin) or lai see (Cantonese) means lucky money and is often given as a monetary gift on holidays or special occasions, particularly during the Chinese New Year.
Working adults typically give the younger generation red packets containing cash to keep them safe because these envelopes are said to fend off evil spirits for the upcoming year.
Although red envelopes are traditionally given to children, they are also given to friends, family, coworkers, and many other relatives; the custom is to give a different amount of money depending on the relationship.
Symbolically, the children in most families receive the packets, but in most cases, the parents keep the money to make up for what they gave away to other people’s children.
However, several disputes have arisen in China about who should receive the monetary gifts. In each case, the courts have sided with the kids, stating that they are the rightful owners of the money and shouldn’t be taken away from them.