导读:对于我们中国人而言，逢年过节、碰上喜事发个红包什么的是十分正常的事情。可是，出于种种原因，这一传统愈发成为人们的一大经济压力。
My bestie Ying is planning her wedding. As her bridesmaid, I’m helping her with most of the arrangement, and for the first time, I have started to doubt the rationality of giving red envelopes.
我的闺蜜颖（音）正在计划她的婚礼。作为她的伴娘，我帮助她安排大部分的事情。这也是我首次开始怀疑发红包的合理性。
It is customary for guests to give a red envelope to express their good wishes and blessings for the newlyweds. But as my bestie made her list, she found it difficult to decide who to invite.
客人发红包以表达他们对新婚夫妇的美好祝愿是很习惯的做法。但是，我的闺蜜制作名单时，她发现很难决定邀请谁。
"I feel like I am asking them for money," she said. "It feels terrible. I don’t want to owe anyone anything."
“我感觉我在向他们要钱，”她说道。“这种感觉很不好。我不想欠任何人任何东西。”
She feels it’s ok to accept red envelopes from close friends but feels embarrassed about taking money from people she does not feel very close to, hence the dilemma. If she invites people she is not close to, she has to accept their money, and if she doesn’t invite them, they might feel disrespected.
她觉得接受亲密朋友的红包是可以的，但是她觉得从并不十分亲密的人那里拿钱很尴尬，于是纠结就产生了。如果她邀请不亲密的人，她就得接受他们的钱，如果不邀请他们，就会觉得不够尊重别人。
Ying and her fiancé have been together for years and many of her acquaintances know about their upcoming marriage: friends, neighbors, colleagues and their bosses. The list is long, and it seems that she has a lot of decisions to make.
颖和她的未婚夫在一起已经很多年了，她的很多熟人，包括朋友、邻居、同事以及老板，知道他们要结婚了。名单很长，看似她要做很多决定。
What’s even worse is that Ying wants her wedding to be in September, but her mother wants it to be held before her retirement in July. Her mom sees her wedding as a chance to reclaim some of the money she spent giving red envelopes to her acquaintances.
更糟糕的是，颖希望在九月份举行婚礼，而她的母亲却希望婚礼在七月份自己退休前举行。她的妈妈将她的婚礼看成是收回发熟人红包花的钱的一个机会。
I just cannot help thinking how ridiculous this whole thing is. The tradition, once full of sincere blessings from friends and family, has somehow become an economic burden for both the guests and the organizers. It’s like a vicious cycle, pushing people to give and take, sometimes unwillingly.
我忍不住想整件事情是多么地荒唐。曾经充满朋友和家人真诚祝福的传统不知怎么地成了客人和东道主的一个经济负担。这就像是一个恶性循环，促使着人们发红包或者是收红包，有时候还是不情愿地。
The red envelope custom has become an excuse to collect money and has even given rise to competition. When I receive wedding invitations from acquaintances, it is not easy to decide how much money I should give. I don’t want to give too much because we are just casual friends, but if I give less than others, it will look bad. Sometimes, I end up calling around among our common friends to discuss how much money would be suitable for the red envelope.
红包风俗已经成为了收钱的一个借口，甚至是引发了竞争。当我收到熟人的婚礼邀请时，我很难决定应该给多少钱。我不想给太多钱因为我们只是普通朋友，但是如果我给的比别人少，那就看起来不光彩了。有时，我最终会给我们共用的朋友们打电话，讨论给多少钱红包合适。
The tradition of giving money at a wedding started in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). However, it seems to have lost its value in modern society.
在婚礼上随份子的传统始于明朝（1368——1644年）。然而，它在现代社会中似乎已经失去了其价值。
What do you think? Does giving a red envelope still reflect the giver’s genuine wish to lend support? I find it hard to say.
你认为呢？给红包仍然折射出给予者真诚希望给出支持吗？我觉得这很难说。
