I wanted to surprise Maya, the little girl I tutor each week, with a small surprise for her birthday. On my way to our class, I stopped at 7-11 to purchase an envelope to put some candy and small toys in. I bypassed all the normal red envelopes, thinking that those were mainly for Chinese New Year or for gifts of money. When I spotted this white envelope with flowers on it, I thought it would be perfect.
Without a second thought, I put Maya's gift inside and excitedly presented it to her after our tutoring session. She tore open the envelope with a squeal of delight.
However, Maya's mother stood with a hand over her open mouth, eyes wide with shock. Then she started to chuckle nervously.
Confused, I asked, "Is everything okay?"
She went on to explain that the color white signifies death. They are given to families of the deceased at funerals. At any other time, they are very unlucky. "Please, take the gift out of the white envelope!"
I hurriedly took back the white envelope and put the gift inside a red envelope that my friend happened to have on hand. (Red is considered lucky).
This incident reminded me...I still have a lot to learn about Taiwanese culture!
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