Lucky Money, which is also known as Ya Sui Qian 压岁钱 in Chinese Mandarin, is an essential ingredient that appears in cduring China's Spring Festival holiday.

Legend has it that Lucky Money has a long and unique history. Its origination can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Rumor has it, it was originally called the Ya Sheng Qian.

According to legend, people at that time wore it and considered it to be a lucky symbol. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a ubiquitous trend that was quite prevalent around the imperial court. The trend was to give out money as a gift for one’s relatives and friends. Rumor has it that later, during the Song and Yuan Dynasty, the convention became popular among the civilians although some minor changes took place. Minor changes such as the local people began to give money as a gift to small children. Thus, as legend would have it, Lucky Money came into being during the Song and Yuan Dynasty.

Many wondered why it was renamed Ya Sui Qian, which has one Chinese character that refers to evil. Well, according to legend, the character Sui “岁” means “year” and is pronounced the same as the character “祟,” which means “evil spirit.” Ancient Chinese believed children were generally weaker than adults and as a result much more likely to attract or get hurt by evil spirits. Thus, Ya Sui Qian symbolized an amulet that could hold down the evil spirits. People gave Lucky Money to children during Spring Festival holiday. Nowadays, however, the meaning of Lucky Money has become a mere opportunity to give a gift of money to younger people during the festival.