Lucky money is becoming an economic burden for some families.

Experts say that giving lucky money is a beautiful custom that needs to be preserved, however, we should not materialize lucky money and it is also impossible to quantify how much money is appropriate.

Giving lucky money is a beautiful custom that needs to be preserved.

Talking to Dan Viet Newspaper reporter, Dr. Truong Thi Lam Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, expressed her opinion: "Although in recent years there have been many opinions about the custom of giving lucky money on Tet, in my opinion, this is still a beautiful custom that needs to be preserved. Every Tet holiday, people give lucky money as a wish for luck and fortune at the beginning of the year. Lucky money is also a way to connect generations in the family, clan, and community at the beginning of the new year.

On Tet holiday, people meet each other, exchange wishes, lucky money envelopes, gather together, chat, which will make the Tet atmosphere more exciting and joyful. However, nowadays, many adults and children place more importance on the material value than the spiritual value of this custom, making lucky money an economic burden for some families during Tet holiday."

Giving lucky money is a beautiful custom that needs to be preserved, a way to connect generations in the family, clan, and community at the beginning of the new year. Photo: Phung Nguyen

According to Dr. Lam Ha, lucky money should not be materialized and it is also impossible to quantify the appropriate amount of lucky money because it depends on the economic conditions of each family. For Dr. Ha personally, lucky money should still have more spiritual value than material value.

In order for lucky money to retain its inherent good meaning, parents need to remind their children of the meaning of lucky money and pay attention to teach them not to open lucky money envelopes in front of guests. The most important meaning of the lucky money custom is still the wish for luck and fortune in the new year. Because receiving lucky money is receiving wishes for luck, after receiving lucky money, the recipient will also have wishes to send back, thereby creating emotional connections between people.

Don't let lucky money turn into a form of "gift"

Master of Cultural Studies Nguyen Thao Chi: "Although there are many conflicting opinions about this custom, in my opinion this is a beautiful custom, a beautiful feature of Vietnamese Tet that needs to be preserved."

However, Master Chi believes that if we only look at and pass on the custom in a formal, superficial way - that is, only look at the act of giving and receiving money, the higher the value of the lucky money, the better - it will be very short-sighted. The essence of giving lucky money at the beginning of the year is to exchange good wishes and prayers between the giver and the receiver (adults - children) or lucky money (children - adults). These wishes are materialized into something material and money is the most common, most useful material, money can be used to buy everything. The money in the lucky money custom is lucky money and because that money contains New Year wishes, the recipient usually keeps it and only uses it after a year.

In fact, today, some adults have taken advantage of the good meaning of this custom and transformed it into a form of "gift" for some impure purposes or just to receive appreciation from others... this unintentionally "materializes" the custom and creates pressure for some families/individuals during Tet when they have to wonder "how much lucky money is enough", how much lucky money to give so as not to offend the recipient.

At the same time, some families do not teach their children to understand this custom properly, leading to children demanding to receive lucky money or having a negative attitude when they do not receive lucky money of high value from others.

These are the results of culturaleducation , family education and partly influenced by the pragmatic thinking of a materially developed society.

Of course, the amount of money each person spends on lucky money can vary greatly depending on their income level. How much we give is each person's freedom, but let's not let lucky money become a material burden, not carry material power, but simply be a custom to wish for a lucky and prosperous new year...

According to Master Chi, there is no standard for what is considered an appropriate lucky money gift. It depends on many factors: family circumstances, occupation, social position, income level, etc.

In my opinion, the most important factor for this custom to exist in its true nature is awareness. Adults must understand and give lucky money appropriately, must teach children in the family to understand this custom, guide children to receive and respond to lucky money properly and politely, guide children how to use this money appropriately in reality. Adults also need to be role models, set an example, and not take advantage of/distort this custom for impure purposes.

Source: https://danviet.vn/li-xi-dang-tro-thanh-ganh-nang-kinh-te-cho-mot-so-gia-dinh-20250128083153434.htm