You've heard Cantonese speakers call them "lai see" and Mandarin speakers call them "hong bao".

你聽過廣東人稱它們為「利是」、華語人稱它們為「紅包」。

Regardless of what you call them, Chinese New Year's like Christmas because of all the red envelopes you receive.

不管你怎麼稱呼它們，中國新年就跟聖誕節一樣，因為你會收到無數紅包。

But instead of toys, you get cash.

但你不是收到玩具，而是現金。

Like any tradition, there are some rules to gifting.

如同任合傳統，送禮是有規則的。

Here's two.

以下有兩個。

First, red envelopes are usually only given from married folks to kids.

首先，紅包通常是已婚人士給小孩的。

Your boss may even give you red envelopes, too⏤consider it a mini bonus.

你的老闆可能也會給你紅包，把它視為小獎金吧。

Second, the amount of money matters.

第二，金錢數字很重要。

Hundreds are great, even fifties, but never, ever give something with fours.

百鈔很好、五十元鈔票也不錯，但絕對、絕對不要給四的倍數。

Four is a really unlucky number, but we'll save that for another story.

四是一個很不幸的數字，但這我們改天再講。

Red envelopes have been around since forever, and they've really evolved with the times.

紅包自古以來就存在，而它們也隨著時代演進。

There are classics, and then there are some that are just crazy designs.

有經典設計的紅包，然後也有一些很瘋狂的設計。

But in the last few years, phones have given a whole new meaning to red envelopes.

但在過去幾年，手機賦予了紅包全新的意義。

On WeChat, the biggest Chinese social network, you can send virtual money to your group chat,

在中國最大的社交網絡微信上，你可以在群組裡傳送虛擬金錢，

then your friends can all take a share of the pie.

然後你的朋友們就都可以分一杯羹。

But, honestly, when it comes to Chinese New Year, there's really nothing better than the old-school traditional of getting cold, hard cash.

但老實說，講到農曆新年，真的沒有比拿到傳統的實質現金還更好的了。

Happy new year, and happy gifting!

新年快樂、送禮愉快！