The Story of Pocket Money for Children on Lunar New Year’s Day

压岁钱的故事 (Yāsuìqián de gùshi) The Story of Pocket Money for Children on Lunar New Year’s Day
Listen to the story
Key Learning Points (Preview):
哭 (kū): v to cry
宝贝 (bǎobèi): n/v baby/ take sth/ sb as treasured one 　
告诉 (gàosù): v to tell 　
Gǔ shíhou, yǒu yìgè xiǎoyāo jiào “Suì.”
古 时候， 有 一个 小妖 叫 “祟”。
In ancient times, there was a demon called “evil spirit.”

Tā xǐhuan zài chúxī wǎnshàng yòng shǒu mō háizi de tóu.
他 喜欢 在 除夕 晚上 用 手 摸 孩子 的 头。 　
He loved to touch the heads of children on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Bèi tā mō guò de háizi jiù huì dàkū, tóuténg fārè, zuìhòu biànchéng le shǎzi.
被 他 摸 过 的 孩子 就 会 大哭， 头疼 发热，最后 变成 了傻子。
Children touched by him were scared to cry; then they developed a headache, followed by a fever, and eventually turned into a fool.

Suǒyǐ, měi nián chúxī, měi yì jiā dōu liàng zhe dēng bú shuìjiào, zhè jiàozuò
所以， 每 年 除夕， 每 一 家 都 亮 着 灯 不 睡觉， 这 叫做
“shǒu Suì.”
“守 祟”。
Therefore, every family had lights on throughout the night, and this was called: “protection from the evil spirit.”

Yǒu yì jiā fūqī hěn bǎobèi tāmen de xiǎo’ érzi.
有 一 家 夫妻 很 宝贝 他们 的 小 儿子。 　
There was a couple who took their young son as their treasured one.

Chúxī yèwǎn, tāmen bùjīngyì de jiāng bā méi tóngqián yòng hóng zhǐ bāo
除夕 夜晚， 他们 不经意 地 将 八 枚 铜钱 用 红 纸 包
qǐlái, fàngzài shúshuì de háizi de zhěntou xiàmian.
起来，放在 熟睡 的 孩子 的 枕头 下面。
They put eight coins in a red wrap, and placed it below the child’s pillow casually on New Year’s Eve.

Bànyè “Suì” gāng yào qù mō háizi de tóu, zhěntóu biān jiù fāchū shǎnguāng,
半夜 “祟” 刚 要 去 摸 孩子 的 头， 枕头 边 就 发出 闪光，
xiàdé “suì” táopǎo le.
吓得 “祟” 逃跑 了。
When the “evil sprit” was about to touch the child’s head, the eight coins below the boy’s pillow sent out bright light which scared the “evil spirit” away.

Yuánlái bā méi tóngqián shì bāxiān biànde, ànzhōng lái bǎohù háizi de.
原来 八 枚 铜钱 是 八仙 变的， 暗中 来 保护 孩子 的。 　
In fact, the eight coins were actually the eight immortals who had secretly assumed the shape of coins to protect the children.

Yīnwèi “Suì” yǔ “suì” tóngyīn, zhīhòu zhújiàn yǎnbiàn wéi “yāsuìqián.”
因为 “祟” 与 “岁” 同音， 之后 逐渐 演变 为 “压岁钱”。 　
Because the “evil spirit” and “year” share the same pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese, it gradually began to be called “Pocket money for children on lunar New Year’s Day.”


Key learning points:

哭 (kū): v to cry
The character “哭 (kū)” means to cry.
Example:
Zài guò chūnjié de shíhou, xiǎoháizi búyào kū, yào xiào.
在 过 春节 的 时候， 小孩子 不要 哭， 要笑。
Children are encouraged to laugh instead of crying during the Chinese New Year.
宝贝 (bǎobèi): n/ v baby/ take sth/ sb as treasured one
The character “宝 (bǎo)” means precious and “贝 (bèi)” means shell.
Examples:
Bǎobèi, māma míngtiān dài nǐ qù gōngyuán wán.
宝贝， 妈妈 明天 带 你 去 公园 玩。 　
Baby, mom would like to take you to the park tomorrow.
Tā hěn bǎobèi tā nà bǎ jiujítā.
他 很 宝贝 他 那 把 旧吉他。 　
He takes his old guitar as his treasured one.
告诉 (gàosù): v to tell
Both the character “告 (gào)” and “诉 (sù)” mean to tell.
Example:
Tā gàosù wǒ míngtiān kěnéng huì xiàyǔ.
他 告诉 我 明天 可能 会 下雨。 　
He told me that it might rain tomorrow.
生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary
孩子(háizi): n child
枕头(zhěntóu): n pillow
保护(bǎohù): v to protect