TL;DR: The custom of mừng tuổi at Tết carries the same meaning of blessing throughout the country; where the sources record differences is in the name and a few accompanying practices. The old North said only mừng tuổi, while the word lì xì, of Cantonese origin, travelled from the South to the North after 1975. In Huế there is the practice of mừng tuổi grandparents at the family clan temple after the vegetarian offering; in the old South there was the custom of elders wearing a set of reddish clothing so that children and grandchildren could bow and mừng tuổi them. The envelope and the amount of money have no regional standard.
Where do li xi and mung tuoi differ?
Li xi and mung tuoi both refer to one act: an elder or a senior person gives a child or a junior a red envelope with a New Year wish. The difference lies in the name and in the origin of the words, not in the nature of the rite.
In the North, the familiar old way of saying it is mung tuoi. Old books record the custom of greeting children at the start of the year with new coins, without an envelope. During the subsidy period, families still found ways to exchange for the newest coins to give children as mung tuoi[3].
The word li xi entered the North later. According to press records, after national reunification in 1975, many southern words spread to the North, including li xi, and today this phrase is used nationwide[3].
According to linguists' explanation, li xi is the Cantonese pronunciation of a word whose Sino-Vietnamese reading is loi thi, meaning to wish good luck and fortune[3]. The custom originates from the Chinese community in the South greeting one another, then spread to the Vietnamese community[3].
Who gives lucky money to whom, and when?
The sources describe the giver and receiver in the same way everywhere: seniors give to juniors, and those who work give back to grandparents and parents. Region-specific practices are recorded only for Hue and for the old South.
According to folk custom, the practice of mung tuoi usually begins after the New Year's Eve moment and lasts until the Tet holiday ends. Adults, grandparents, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and older brothers and sisters give mung tuoi to children and grandchildren; guests visiting the house also receive and give mung tuoi. Children who work and have income offer red envelopes to grandparents and parents to wish them health[4].
According to the book Khao luan ve Tet by Huynh Ngoc Trang, after the ancestor offering on the morning of the first day, children and grandchildren wish Tet greetings to grandparents and parents. Elders sit on the wooden platform, on the plank bed, or on chairs before the altar to receive the greetings[1]. Children are given money by grandparents and parents, called mung tuoi money, kept in red silk or cloth bags, later commonly li xi money in colorful paper envelopes with various decorative motifs, implying auspicious wishes[1].
In Hue, after the offering, people open the door to receive guests, go to the pagoda, visit ancestral graves, offer incense, give mung tuoi to grandparents at the clan house, and visit paternal and maternal grandparents and parents[1]. The ancestor offering on New Year's Day in Hue uses vegetarian dishes, because most residents here follow Buddhism[1].
For the old South, the book Khao luan ve Tet records a distinct custom: when grandparents are elderly, children and grandchildren prepare filial duties carefully, including a set of red clothes. The red outfit is worn by elders at the start of the year for children and grandchildren to give mung tuoi. Children and grandchildren from oldest to youngest bow, greeting grandparents for another year and wishing: as the old year passes into the new, we respectfully wish you a long life[1].
Do envelopes and amounts differ by region?
The envelope is nearly uniform: red paper, later yellow, pink, and many decorative motifs. The amount inside is where places understand differently.
Some places favor small change for mung tuoi, understanding that small money will multiply. Others favor a single whole note for li xi, considering odd change a sign of misfortune[1]. The book Khao luan ve Tet records both understandings side by side, without saying which place favors which.
Mostly, uncles, aunts, and relatives give mung tuoi money to children. When visiting for Tet greetings, people always prepare envelopes of li xi money to give children. Conversely, when guests visit with small children, the host also gives li xi to the children, saying it is for the child to eat well and grow fast, study intelligently, and be obedient[1].
In the Mekong Delta, according to an article in the Can Tho newspaper, on the first day, besides the offering to ancestors, family members give mung tuoi to one another: children and grandchildren greet grandparents and wish them good health, and elders give li xi to the young with wishes for smooth business and good studies. On the second or third day, relatives visit one another, give mung tuoi and exchange New Year wishes[2].
One press article quotes the feng shui practitioner Pham Dinh Hai on li xi numbers said to be lucky according to Huyen Khong feng shui, namely 1, 6, 8 and 9[4]. This is a feng shui interpretation, not a standard of the mung tuoi custom, and there is no basis to say people in all three regions choose numbers this way.
Why does one custom have two names?
According to the book Khao luan ve Tet, Tet activities, including greetings and mung tuoi, form a calendar of rites that is fairly unified nationwide, yet each region has its variations[1]. Different names reflect different histories of language and cultural contact in each region, not that the three regions practice three different rites.
According to a press article citing linguists, the word li xi passed from a custom of the Chinese community in the South to the Vietnamese community, spread across the South, and reached the North after 1975; before that, northerners only said mung tuoi[3]. For Hue specifically, the book Khao luan ve Tet describes greeting grandparents at the clan house as one of the things done after the vegetarian ancestor offering on New Year's morning[1].
Where do the North, Hue and the South differ, in summary?
The table below compares points recorded by sources, not to rank one region's practice above another.
| Aspect | The North | Hue | The South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Formerly only mung tuoi; li xi entered after 1975[3] | The book uses the word mung tuoi when describing Hue[1] | Li xi, the Cantonese reading of "loi thi", spread from the Chinese community to the Vietnamese[3] |
| What the sources describe specifically | Children were given new coins and new notes, formerly without an envelope[3] | Vegetarian ancestor offering; after it, going to the pagoda, visiting graves, greeting grandparents at the clan house[1] | The old South: elders wear a red outfit so that children and grandchildren bow and greet them[1]; the Mekong Delta: family members give mung tuoi to one another on the first day[2] |
As for envelopes, givers and amounts, the sources describe them for the whole country, not by region[1][4].
Is mung tuoi only for children?
No. Mung tuoi goes both ways. Seniors give to small children, and those who work give back to grandparents and parents.
According to folk custom, children and grandchildren who work and have income also offer bright red envelopes to grandparents and parents to wish them health, luck, and peace[4]. The most common point in the mung tuoi custom is sincerity, a blessing with the wish for peace, smoothness, and much luck from health to material and spiritual life[4].
In the old South, greeting one's elders also meant bowing to them. The book Khao luan ve Tet records how descendants prepared in advance for their aged grandparents: building the tomb while they were still alive, buying the coffin, and sewing the funeral clothes, among them the red outfit that the elders wore at the start of the year so that children and grandchildren could bow and greet them on gaining another year[1]. The book records this custom specifically for the old South.
Nhat Nguyet's suggestions for giving lucky money at the start of the year
Mung tuoi is a small rite but carries many layers of meaning: it marks the passage from the old year to the new, it confirms family hierarchy, and it is an occasion for people to say kind words they rarely say on ordinary days. So what is worth keeping is not the amount in the envelope.
- If you are in the North and your family still says mung tuoi, keep that way of speaking. No need to switch to li xi just because it sounds more familiar.
- If you are in the South and use li xi, no need to change back either. Both words are alive in Vietnamese.
- If your lineage has the custom of greeting grandparents at the clan house, ask the elders in the lineage about the order and offerings, because each lineage has its own rules.
- As for the amount, no number is right for every family. What to avoid is giving envelopes in a calculating way, because that destroys the very blessing meaning of the custom.
Conclusion
The three regions do not have three different mung tuoi customs: the whole country shares one custom with the same meaning of blessing. The differences the sources record are the name, mung tuoi in the old North and li xi spreading from the South, and a few accompanying practices in Hue and in the old South. Envelopes and amounts are understood differently from place to place and family to family, not along regional lines.
