Mixed Feelings on Receiving Hongbaos

Advertisement

A new year begins and the time to celebrate Chinese New Year rolls around, turning the world around me into shades of bright and cheerful red. Just like any other Chinese kid, one tradition that plays a big part in my Chinese New Year is the receiving of the 红包 hóngbāo. As the young generation, adults and elders would turn to me and pull out the iconic, red-colored envelope at every family gathering. At first, I didn’t understand why I received hongbaos filled with paper cash every year. All I knew to do was: accept the hongbao with both my hands without opening the packet in front of the giver and say “谢谢 xièxiè” (thank you). The children’s roles as receivers of the hongbao are assigned to them at birth, so they tend to take this role for granted, including me. As I grew older, I began to understand the significance of the hongbao in Chinese culture and felt the complex emotions it brings me.

When celebrating Chinese New Year two years ago, I recall my sisters and I each receiving one hongbao containing ten RMB 100 bills from my granny. She proudly handed them to us and told us that the numbers on the right side of the RMB 100 bills were in sequential order because she got newly printed bills from the bank last week. If you knew my granny, you’d know she’s the most frugal old lady ever. She argues over every extra cent she spends on buying groceries, she refuses to throw away any of her belongings, and even in the humid heat of the summer, she leaves the air conditioning off just to save power. Knowing this, I was stunned and touched at how unconditionally giving my granny was when it came to spending money on her grandchildren. My granny portrays the elderly generation in China; grandparents like mine tend to have strong materialistic values because they were deprived of them when they were younger. This is when a feeling of guilt arose inside of me. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for taking the money that the elderly probably spent their entire year saving up but never dared spend on themselves. As a child, I’m able to take large amounts of money from elders for granted each year because it’s tradition. Now it can make me feel uneasy, but with embracing my culture and its traditions, I’m slowly accepting this privilege of mine.

Advertisement

In Chinese families, children don’t receive allowances from their parents. Therefore, Chinese kids aren’t taught how to manage their own spendings. When given hongbaos, there are kids who use the money to buy something they’ve wanted for a long time, and there are kids like me who give the money straight to their parents. In my case, I’d give the hongbaos directly to my parents, and they would buy me things I asked for using the hongbao money. I always chose to do this because I didn’t have a good foundation established on how to spend money. Later on, as I grew up and began spending on my own, I was troubled with my management of hongbao money. Capable of keeping the money, I felt anxious to manage it well and spend it adequately. This tradition of receiving hongbaos has actually given me the chance to try managing my own spendings. In my opinion, it’s a good way for Chinese kids to experience spending money and get a feel for how they can financially manage themselves.

These are my personal thoughts on receiving hongbaos, a tradition that gives me feelings of mixed emotions of affection, guilt, and unease all at the same time. It’s important to remember that this tradition is not only a symbol of Chinese New Year, but a way for the Chinese to share happiness and blessings. Through my experiences, I’ve come to see this tradition as a way to celebrate my unique culture.

This article is part of beijingkids’ Teen Correspondents program. If you or a teen you know wants to write for us, email [e-mail].

---

Advertisement

Image: Unsplash

Hot Topics This Week