Ang pow actually means “red packets” in the Hokkien dialect. The Cantonese version, lai see, means “lucky money” and is most often given during Chinese New Year from married people to single people, with some money inside, as a form of well-wishes for the coming year.
The most common type of ang pow design is a plain red envelope. Over the years, banks have printed fancy ang pow designs to be given to their customers to use during Chinese New Year. Of course, the bank’s name and logo are printed somewhere, usually at the back, of the ang pow. It’s a form of publicity for the bank. So far, I don’t think there’s been any award for the best ang pow design. Maybe there should be one.
When it comes to cute designs, the banks have nothing on the commercially available ones (commercially as in you have to buy them instead of getting them free, like the ones from the banks). My sister, who has the weakest spot for anything cute, is one of those who favours buying such cute ang pow designs. This is the one I got from her for this year:
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And here’s the one from my brother (a freebie with a logo on the back):
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And yes, they both have lai see (lucky money) inside them.
