Red envelopes givings are a fun part of Chinese New Year tradition in my opinion, mostly at family gatherings Lunar New Year or wedding. The red color of the envelope means good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. 
What goes in the Red envelopes? Usually money. The amount of money in the envelope usually ends with an even digit,such as 88 and 168 are both lucky numbers. But it is the tradition that money should not be given in "4"s, or the number four should not appear in the amount, such as 44 nor 444 as the sounding pronunciation of the word "four" resembles that of the word "death", and it signifies bad luck for many Chinese.
During the Lunar New Year, red envelopes are typically given by the married to the unmarried, most to young children. It is traditional to put brand new money inside red envelopes, as well as to avoid opening the envelopes in front of the relatives to show respect.
Since it is Chinese New Year, we will be hanging out few Red Envelopes to others.
Happy Chinese New Year!
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Eileen Hsu 許雅嵐 (email: EHSU(@)elliman.com)
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