Red Packet

A red envelope or red packet (known as hóngbāo in Mandarin, Ang Pao in Min Nan, Lai See in Cantonese) Sae Bae Don in Korean, and Lì Xì in Vietnamese) is a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions by Chinese and other East Asian societies.

I was rummaging my things today when I found a red packet.  This is already a 4-year old packet that I've been keeping. Where did I get it?

It was (I think) Feb 18,2007 when we were invited by our trainer Say Kheng (we call her SK) to their house on Chinese New year. Since we were new in Singapore (barely a month that time) she wants us to feel and celebrate the occassion. It was really nice of her to do such for our batch. So we headed to their house.

Aside from the food & drinks that they offer, her mom gave each one of us Ang Pao. They say it was a tradition for married people to give red packets to unmarried ones. (well, it pays to be single! haha) We didnt even expect such as we dont know how they celebrate CNY.

Since we were just starting work there, it was a tough time for us financially. So, I think some of my batchmates have already used the "Ang Pao" given to them.

But mine, I kept it.Because I believe it will bring good luck for me - financially :). I just peek at the envelope before but didnt really count how much is inside. Well,its only today that I learnt that there were SGD6 inside. Well, lucky me, I still have money - to keep! :)