When he entered the Hong Kong Supermarket, Sam Lin scanned his wife’s text messages telling him how many red envelopes to buy.
Three dozen, she wrote – and make them big so they fit in checks instead of folded wads of cash.
Lin’s nephews, nieces and in-laws will not have the thrill of pulling crisp bills out of their red lunar New Year lucky envelopes when the Year of the Ox kicks off Friday.
Normally, Lin goes to his credit union weeks before the holidays to pre-order new bills – a total of $ 900 to $ 1,000 for the children and elderly in his extended family. But with the possibility of the coronavirus lurking in $ 20 or $ 100 bills, Lin is one of many Asian Americans to forgo traditional cash at the festivities.
The pandemic, which claimed the lives of more than 44,000 people in California alone, has changed age-old habits, like so many others. Many families don’t get along with luscious spreads including dumplings, sticky rice cakes, whole fish, spring rolls or long-lived noodles.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, things are light in downtown Los Angeles’ Chinatown.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
This year, red envelopes, often adorned with good wishes in Chinese characters or casual symbols such as peaches and fish, include checks or sweets instead of cash. Some people send money through online services to avoid touching anything.
Others opt for virtual envelopes – a marriage of e-cards and Venmo – which erupts in a riot of colors and New Year’s greetings while allowing the recipient to redeem money.
Family members who receive red envelopes are generally the ones to be looked after or thanked for, including children, parents, and grandparents. Some Asian Americans also give red envelopes to hairdressers, neighbors, mail carriers, and mechanics.
“I think we all need to come up with ideas this season,” said Lin, a Monterey Park businessman in his late 50s who was born in Taiwan.
Kat Nguyen-De Angelis with her son Dominic, 4, at the pagoda photo exhibition under a sea of red lanterns at Union Market in Tustin.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
In Irvine, Kat Nguyen-De Angelis is extremely careful with the corona virus. Apart from her husband and 4-year-old son, no one else has set foot in her flat since the pandemic started.
She has her groceries delivered. Standing in a long line to ask a bank employee for a large amount of cash, even if they are double masked, isn’t a risk she’s willing to take.
But handing out money to family members from generation to generation is not optional. Turning the calendar is a time of generosity, renewal, and leaving the right way by avoiding arguments.
“Of course the kids prefer to see real money – and count it. That’s the highlight, ”said Nguyen-De Angelis, 42, a public relations consultant who is Vietnamese-American. “But what about all germs?”
Her solution: put caramels with fish sauce that she discovered on the Internet, in shiny red and gold envelopes, along with adult Lotto scrapers. Youngsters will still get a few bills to have the thrill of getting real money. She will deliver some envelopes in person and mail others.
Mary Lu arranges lucky bamboo plants for sale Wednesday at her Broadway store in Chinatown, Los Angeles. She says things have been very light.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Virtual red envelopes were a trend before the pandemic. Like working from home, they are a technology-driven convenience accelerated by the needs of the past year.
“They’re fast, convenient and you can turn them into a game,” said Bill Imada, president of IW Group, a global advertising and communications firm with expertise in the Asian and Asian-American markets.
Billions of dollars have been exchanged through the online holiday gifts since the trend started around 2015 through the WeChat app, Imada said, with features such as competitions between friends encouraging participation.
“People send love notes. They make their own designs, or they send it to members of a group, and whoever opens it first in the group gets more money, ”he said.
Imada’s colleague Flora Zhao has sent digital red envelopes to more than 20 people in her area in California, China, Massachusetts and New York, avoiding the delay time of physical mail.
“Because they receive it right away, you never have to worry about being late,” said Zhao, vice president of customer partners, who is Chinese-American.
With the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese costume, Jimmy Huynh, in the middle, greets people while Stephanie Vu, right, helps a customer choose flowers.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Lunar New Year is a great marketing opportunity for Asian-oriented companies. While watching the New Year celebration of Chinese channel CCTV, which attracts more than a billion viewers, Zhao puts red envelopes on her WeChat moments, with friends vying to be the first to open them and collect the money.
Stevie Dai, a high school student from Alhambra, expects to receive at least $ 250 in total from relatives in Singapore who have said they will send the envelopes – hongbao in Mandarin, li xi in Vietnamese – via the Internet.
“It’s safer, yes, because it is true that you can catch COVID from any old or new money, just as you can catch it from any family member,” said Dai, 17. “The point is to avoid contact.”
Banks around the world have adapted their payment methods, with fewer customer traffic and a slowdown in the number of accounts in circulation.
At United Business Bank in Garden Grove, which has many Asian-American clients, the usual holiday rush for cash has dropped to “two or three phone calls,” said First Vice President Ngoc Tinh Nguyen.
In a normal year, if the phone rang earlier than Tet – the Vietnamese term for Lunar New Year – it was likely someone was asking for the most recent bills. If a $ 2,000 or $ 5,000 request were not met, the customer would be very upset, Nguyen added.
In November or December, the bank usually receives additional cash, including $ 2 bills, which are popular for red envelopes.
“It’s so sad that we can’t celebrate it in person,” said Nguyen. “But let’s be safe first.”
Midori Nguyen, 5, from Westminster, performs the lion dance on a shopping trip with Grandma at the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An open-air shopping center in Tustin, The District typically offers dollar bills in whimsically decorated envelopes for the New Year. The mall’s usual celebrations, complete with a lion dance, have been canceled to avoid crowds. This year, instead of cash, consumers who spend $ 100 or more will get red envelopes with shopping malls gift cards.
“We tried to think of ways we can keep traditions alive while still socializing,” said Shannon Campbell, The District’s marketing director.
Janet Li, 59, a Taiwan-born salesman from San Gabriel, usually gives her parents and in-laws $ 100 each for the New Year. She has a lot of nieces and nephews who also get red envelopes.
Opening an envelope to find a check doesn’t have much appeal to a 7-year-old, Li said – and then the check still has to be deposited by the parents. She asks her middle-aged son to research the online envelopes and possibly add gas cards as well – still a pandemic necessity.
Staying separate during this important holiday, and minimizing touching cash and even the colorful envelopes themselves, ensures family and friends can celebrate together next year.
“You can stop this super spreader,” said Li.