Red and even

I got 'Ang Pao' (a red envelop with money inside) today at work. The amount of money contained in the envelope ends with an even digit in accordance with Chinese beliefs such as 88. The red color symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. They are given during Chinese New Year by married couples to unmarried people. All employees in the company I work for receive 'Ang Pao' every year.

I didn't know all of this until I moved to Singapore, however we have a similar practice for children in Japan called 'Otoshidama' during the New Year period (Western calendar).