A Lunar New Year without red envelope is like a Christmas Day without Santa
Claus. Kids, though with a vague idea about its practical value, look forward
to getting from elders; subordinates, with a much clearer knowing, hold the
same, indeed fiercer, expectation from their boss. So is everyone else-- the
charm of red envelope prevails.
Back in my childhood, the appeal of the thin red paper lies less in the
face value of the bills than in the greeting grins. That's how it goes:
Recivers grin for a free lunch, and givers grin for the very grin, which adds
to their sense of fulfillment. Indeed, the red envelope bridges an auspicious
exchange of pleasant grins and familiar blessings, "Kung Hsi Fa Tzai!"
Already an adult yet financially dependent, I give red envolope a different
interpretation: a red envelope alone is not enough to make the red envelope.
Frankly, what lies inside beckons more magnetically to me, and at the same
time the former innocent grin has gradually changed into a blushed, if not
brazen, smile. The changing arises from my "contaminated" reaction-- that is,
I involuntarily wish, "The more, the better."
Sadly, it is in every respect a sophisticated transformation. The symbolic
meaning of the red envelope has given way to its practical function. As a
consequence, my head lowers lower every time I am given red envelopes.
Admittedly, gone are my angelic grin at the sight of the money envelope--ahem!
excuse my slip of keyboard...-- the red envelope.
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