Cantonese pronunciation for "
lucky packets". These are little
red paper envelopes with
money inside, given to welcoming
children by
adult relatives and
friends during all major
Chinese festivities, such as
Chinese New Year,
Mid-Autum Festival, and others. They used to be
plain red packets, but now they're emblazoned with all sorts of
corporate slogans, because
companies give them out for
free as advertisements.
Kids can get rich off this, especially if he or she has lots of relatives and family friends. For a Chinese extended family, I have a modest number of relatives, so I used to gross around US$200 each Chinese New Year. I know some people who get over US$1000, because they have huge extended families.
When accepting lai see, it is customary to hold out both hands. Before accepting, you are supposed to utter some celebratory greeting as a sign of politeness. For example:
"Gong heh fat choi" - Cantonese, literally means "Congratulations! Get rich!". It is really a universal Chinese New Year celebratory greeting. Say this if you want the sweet lai see and the money inside.
You can use other greetings as well. For example, to an elderly person, say "Good health, and live ten thousand years!". They might say back to you "Study hard and succeed!", or some other proverb before giving you the money. Be patient. You might have to withstand several onslaughts of four-character proverbs before getting your stuff. In my experience, grandparents give out the most, because most of them tend to dote on their grandchildren.
Never open a lai see as soon as you get it! It is very rude. Wait until you have a whole heap of them (typically after some family gathering or a dinner with friends), take them home, and open them all. You're suddenly rich. At one time, lai see was my only guaranteed source of income.
Some people use the empty red envelopes as signs of luck. Stick four of them under your bed at the corners, leaving a bit of money in each (small change will do). It is supposed to bring you success and fortune.