压岁钱

压岁钱

Literally means:

lucky money

Actually means:

money given to children as lunar New Year

It refers to the money given to children by their seniors during the Chinese Lunar New Year (the Spring Festival). Such money was originally called 压岁钱, intending to drive away evil spirits from children. 祟 (evil spirit harming people) and 岁 (year) are homonyms. Later on, 压祟钱 is replaced by 压岁钱.

过阴历年（春节）时长压岁钱是中国人的习俗。压岁钱最初叫“压祟钱”，用来帮助孩子驱除鬼怪。“祟”(鬼神作怪害人)和“岁”同音，后来“压祟钱”就变成了“压岁钱”。