How did the custom of giving out red envelopes on Chinese New Year come about?

Handing out red envelopes is a Chinese New Year custom, and the Chinese love the color red because it symbolizes vitality, happiness and good luck.

Handing out red envelopes to underage children (according to Chinese beliefs, married people are considered adults) is a way of bringing them good wishes and good luck. The money in the red packet is just to make the children happy and its main significance is in the red paper as it symbolizes good luck. Therefore, it is impolite to open the red envelopes in front of the elders who distribute them.

When paying tribute at the Spring Festival, the elders will distribute the pre-prepared New Year's money to the younger generation. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress the evil spirits, because "year" and "spirit" harmonize, and the younger generation will be able to spend the year in peace when they get the New Year's money. There are two kinds of New Year's money, one is to colorful rope threaded woven into the shape of a dragon, placed at the foot of the bed, this record is found in the "Yanjing Yearly Record"; the other is the most common, that is, wrapped in red paper by the parents of the money given to the children. New Year's money can be given in public after the younger generation pays homage to the New Year, or it can be placed under the child's pillow by the parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve.

Folk believe that when the New Year's money is given to the child, when the evil spirits, demons or the "New Year" go to harm the child, the child can use the money to bribe them to turn bad luck into good luck. Qing people Wu Man Yun "New Year's money" poem in the cloud: "a hundred and ten money through the colorful line long, divided again pillow from the collection, the discussion of firecrackers to talk about xiao price, added to the children of the night busy". From this point of view, the new year's money is tied to a child's heart, and the child's new year's money is mainly used to buy firecrackers, toys and sweets and other festive things.

Now the elders for the younger generation to send the custom of the New Year's Eve money is still prevalent, the amount of the New Year's Eve preserves from dozens to hundreds of ranging, the New Year's Eve money is mostly used by children to buy books and school supplies, the new fashion for the New Year's Eve money to give a new content.