老外也愛搶紅包

老外也愛搶紅包

Red Packets over Lunar New Year

32歲的英國女子費利西蒂·米勒有一個中國丈夫，她仍然記得自己在2015年春節期間第一次學會使用微信紅包時的那股子興奮勁兒。

她給她丈夫的表弟妹們發了幾個紅包，還在她中國家庭群聊里也發了幾個。她手氣也不錯，搶到了幾個紅包。

米勒說道：“這很有趣。沒人發太大數額的紅包。這更像是一場游戲。”微信給個人紅包設定上限不能超過200元（約合29美元）。

和米勒一樣，許多外國人也開始加入他們中國朋友和家人的行列，在春節發紅包、搶紅包。許多外國人都被這種獨特的人際互動方式、以及誕生這種現象的文化所吸引，他們都說和朋友們爭著在微信里搶紅包很有趣。

今年1月支付寶和騰訊QQ把紅包玩法推上了一個新高度——他們用定位服務技術推出了增強現實（AR）紅包。通過這項服務，用戶可以通過掃描現實生活中的物體來發紅包或者搶紅包。

米勒還沒有試過AR紅包，但是她真的很喜歡虛擬紅包。據米勒表示，這給所有節日群聊都增添了一點樂趣和競爭。她家里的規矩是上輪紅包中搶得金額最高的人發下輪紅包。

米勒說在她的祖國，人們過節時通常只是送禮物和禮券，只有當他們不知道給別人買什么的時候才會給現金。

Felicity Miller, a 32-year-old British woman who has a Chinese husband, still remembers the excitement she felt when she first learned to use the "red packet" function on WeChat during Chinese New Year in 2015.

She sent some private individual ones to her husband’s younger cousins and some in her Chinese family’s group chat on WeChat. She also grabbed some.

"It was quite fun. No one sent big amounts. It was more like a game." said Miller. WeChat limits the amount that can be sent in a single red packet to 200 yuan ($29).

Like Miller, some foreigners have started to join their Chinese friends and family in sending or grabbing virtual red packets during Spring Festival . Attracted by the unique way of interacting with people as well as the culture that gave birth to the phenomenon, many foreigners say competing with friends to grab red packets in a WeChat group can be a lot of fun.

Alipay and Tencent’s QQ took things up a notch when they launched augmented reality (AR) virtual red packets with location based service (LBS) technology,in January. Through this service, users can create or get red packets by scanning an object in real life.

Miller has not tried the AR red packet as yet, but she thoroughly enjoys using virtual red packets. It adds a bit of fun and competition to any festive group chat, she said. The rule in her family is that the person who grabs the highest amount from the previous red packet sends the next.

來自美國的“友好人家”在廣州逛新春花市

米勒一個最好的紅包交換回憶是在2015年，當時她的中國家人們在群聊里分享了很多美味春節大餐的照片，而她丈夫一個離家求學的表弟則分享一張饅頭的照片。

她說道：“我覺得他在受苦，所以我給他發了個紅包，還給他發了句話‘可憐的孩子，用這些錢買個包子吧’。”

27歲的瑞典人馬蒂斯·克萊蒙特已經在中國生活了4年半，他表示由于微信錢包的普及，許多外國人也開始玩起了紅包。

克萊蒙特說道：“我認為這是因為現在越來越多的地方支持微信支付，我覺得融入到這種文化中很有趣。”

兩年前，當有朋友給他發5.20元和8.88元紅包的時候，他對其中隱藏的含義一無所知。現在他不僅十分了解這其中的深意，還發出了很多這樣的紅包。

他笑著說道：“我認為用5.20元紅包說‘我愛你’很不錯。我還記得曾經打電話問我朋友為什么發99.99元的紅包，而不是直接100。為什么？不為什么！”

盡管虛擬紅包越來越受歡迎，但是米勒認為真正的紅包仍然沒有過時。她說道：“人們喜歡傳統的紅包、喜歡新錢的氣味、喜歡摸著紅包的厚度猜里面有多少錢。但是我認為互聯網虛擬紅包可以用一種更有趣的方式來發。它們是相對較新穎的事物，人們仍然在摸索怎么發紅包、怎么收紅包。”

She said that during festivals in her home country, people usually just send gifts or give gift vouchers; they only give cash if they do not know what to buy for the other person.

One of Miller’s fondest memories of red packet exchange was in 2015 when her Chinese family members shared photos of their delicious Spring Festival dinner in a group chat and one of her husband’s cousins who studies away from home shared a photo of a mantou (plain buns).

"I felt that he was struggling. So, I sent him a red packet and added the message, ’Poor boy, use it to buy a baozi (steamed buns with filling）." she said.

Mattias Klement, 27, a Swede who has been living in China for four and a half years, said more foreigners have started to gravitate toward red packets because of the popularity of WeChat wallet.

"I think it is because more and more places now allow paying with WeChat. It’s also fun to just immerse yourself in the culture of it." said Klement.

Two years ago, when some friends sent him 5.20 or 8.88 yuan red packets, he had no clue about the hidden meanings. Now, he is not only quite versed on them but has also sent a few.

"It’s nice to be able to say ’I love you’ with 5.20 yuan, I guess," he said, laughing. "I also remember trying to tick some of my friends off by paying back 99.99 instead of 100. Why? Just because."

Despite the growing popularity of virtual red packets, Miller said real red packets will still remain current. "People like the traditional, the smell of new money, feeling how thick the packet is and wondering how much is inside," she said. "But I think online red packets can be used in a more entertaining way. They are relatively new and people are still working out the etiquette of how to give and receive online ones."