Digital gift money the latest New Year trend

Giving hongbao, or red packets, during the Spring Festival or other important occasions is a long Chinese tradition.

A red packet, usually a red envelope with money in it, is traditionally handed out to children by parents, grandparents, or relatives and friends as a way of wishing them good luck or good fortune.

However, many people have said on the Internet that their children received fewer or thinner red envelopes during this year's Lunar New Year. Compared with the fat hongbao children received in previous years, this year's hongbao have been more symbolic rather than materialistic. For those children who reaped a lot of money from their red envelopes in the past, the slim red packets they received during this year's Spring Festival may invite their complaints or cause them less happy for a time. However, fewer or thinner red packets herald a positive social trend and should be encouraged.