Singapore — A newly-wed wife lamented over having to give ang paos this holiday season, writing on the NUS Whispers Facebook page on Sunday (Feb 6) that she can’t wait until Feb 15, when the season ends.
And while some online commenters, including social media influencer DJ Jade Rasif, were sympathetic toward the young bride, given the current economic climate, others reminded her what a blessing it is to be able to give to others.
Part of the poster’s issue stemmed from the difference in enthusiasm level between her and her husband toward giving ang paos.
“First cny as newlyweds, we are now ‘required’ to give ang baos to our younger/single relatives, and my husband is being so annoyingly over-zealous about it,” she wrote.
“I mean, whats there to be excited about? We are giving away our hard-earned money and by no means did any of it come from them.”
And when the husband even went through the trouble of getting new bills to give away, she told him to be “environemental friendly” and just take bills from the ATM.
To add to her frustration, her husband “even ordered customised ang baos with his surname on it” and made her “stay up late with him to pack the ang baos.”
She lamented further that “Everything just feels so meaningless and I can’t seem to gel on this with him,” and wondered, “Is it me?”
The wife added that she didn’t want “to pour cold water over him,” and participated with everything in an effort to make sure he would not overspend.
“Justifying that our ang bao can just be $8 instead of >$10, since we do not have a child yet and this is our first year,” she wrote, adding, “Hoping for 15 feb to be come sooner so we can be over with this cny.”
Ms Rasif, the top commenter on her post, acknowledged that this year’s CNY holiday feels somewhat different.
“People have no idea what your financial situation is,” she wrote sympathetically, adding, “Jia you to anyone having a rough CNY.”
Other commenters told her that the ability to give is a joy and a privilege.
Yet others reminded her that she has been on the receiving end of ang paos, and that it’s her turn to give back.
Some commenters reminded her that giving ang paos only happens once a year.
One admonished the young wife to just let her husband “enjoy it.”
/TISG
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