Enjoy Chinese New Year Singapore Style, with red packets promising pretty flowers, wealth and promotion

 

Red packet given free to shoppers in Fairprice supermarket, Bukit Panjang shopping mall in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Red packets are supposed to be given to children and unmarried relatives, containing new banknotes. 

In olden days the banks issued lots of new notes specially for New Year, and gave away red packets with the name of the bank. Concerns for the environment and the amount of note money going into landfill have led to a new idea. The red packet itself is this used but the contents are different. The lucky colour red packet contains, a prettily printed note from the donor promising money to be paid plastic free and paper-free by a bank transfer such as Paynow on a mobile phone.

I showed my red packets online on Zoom to my friend Mike, in Singapore, who is a member of our Toastmasters Club, BHA. I asked him what the four gold characters in Chinese meant. He told me, enlighteningly:

The top character is flower. The next character down is open. 

That combination means, may the spring flowers open for you (and bless you).

The last but one character mean big riches (may you be wealthy). The last character means rise up (be successful, be promoted to be the boss).

Fairprice Supermarket. Bukit Panjang. Picture by Trevor Sharot.

Useful Websites

Fairprice, Bukit Panjang

About the Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

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Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When