Around the Lunar New Year holidays, it is common in Chinese culture for people to give money in red envelopes as gifts. These gifts represent sharing prosperity and good fortune with one’s family.
The act of giving red envelopes started in ancient China. The practice is actually two separatecultural traditions combined over time. The first involvesthe importance of the color red, while the second relates togiving money to keep evil spirits away.
There is an old mythabout a monstercalled “Nian” that would appear every year and attack villages. Later, villagers discovered the monster feared the color red and loud noises. After that, red couplets, clothing, and firecrackers became important parts of the Lunar New Year.
The tradition of giving money is related tothe legendof “Sui,” another mythicalmonster that would scarechildren during their sleep. One night, a couple gave their son some coins to play with to keep him awake. When the child fell asleep and Sui appeared, the coins burstwith bright lights and scaredthe monsteraway. Eventually, people began giving coins tied together with red string. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that this traditional gift was replaced by paper money put inside red envelopes.
請依文意選出最適當的一個選項 ❶ What is the article mainly about?
(A) The origins of red envelopes.
(B) The traditions of the Lunar New Year.
(C) The importance of money to the Chinese.
(D) The rules about giving red envelopes. ❷ According to the article, how did people protect themselves from the monster “Nian”?
(A) They gave children coins.
(B) They wore red clothing.
(C) They offered food to it.
(D) They kept the lights on at night.
