What is a Chinese red envalope?

A red envelope or red packet (simplified Chinese: 红包; traditional Chinese: 紅包; pinyin: hóngbāo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: âng-pau) is a monetary gift given during holidays or for special occasions such as a wedding, a graduation, or the birth of a baby.

A red envelope is usually for celebrations like weddings, birthdays, or graduations. Receiving a red pouch is a sign of good luck and to ward off evil spirits. Usually it contains money and people give them during the holidays. People usually put in even amount of money including 9 because it is a homophonous to the word long. 4 should never be given or using 4 in any of the digits because the pronunciation of 4 is similar to death.