Lai See

During the first few days of the Chinese New Year festival you will say many people giving each other small red and gold envelopes filled with money. This tradition is called Lai See and you give Lai See to poeple to wish them good fortune and prosperity in the year to come.

Exaples of Lai See enveloppes

But giving Lai See is not as straightforward as it seems and there is a certain etiquette around who you give and how much you give. The general rule of thumb with Lai See is that it’s given from a senior to a junior. For example a boss will give Lai See to his employees, parents to their children and residents to doormen. Married couples will also give Lai See to their single friends.  

The amount given varies widely depending on who the Lai See is given to. But no matter what the amount, the money should only be given in single notes and should never contain any coins. It’s also important that the notes are new and locals often stand in line at the bank for hours to obtain new fresh notes.

As you may remember from my previous blog article (Unlucky fours), the Cantonese word for four sounds like the Cantonese word for deaths, so amounts of $40 and $400 should be avoided as they are considered bad luck.

In addition to the red envelopes, small gifts are also exchanges between friends and family during the Chinese New Year. Common gifts include fruit, cakes, biscuits and chocolates. As you can see shops are well stocked to provide for all the chocolate.

We decided to join the tradition and have given Lai See to our doormen and the ladies at the recption. We didn't manage to get new banknotes, but I'm sure they appreciate the effort! I wonder if I'll get any Lai See....

See you soon.