This first thing that comes to my mind when I think about pocket money is Vishu which is a festival we celebrate in Kerala. On this day, there is a tradition of giving young people money. Although Vishu marks the first day of Medam, the ninth month in the Malayalam calendar (yes, I googled this), I believe this day also signifies the rotation of wealth.
Writing this stuff brings back so many memories. The day starts by our mom (we are 2 siblings) waking us up early in the morning and telling us to keep our eyes closed as she takes us to show us the statue of a Hindu deity decorated with flowers and other beautiful articles. Then she hands each of us a rupee note (of 100/500 denomination). That’s how the day starts!
We were a tightly packed society meaning all my friends were in the same neighborhood. So after receiving these “vishumoney” (this is what we used to call it) from our dad and grandparents we would run off to our friends’ house.
P.S (but not really) grandparents used to give us the largest amount.
You can think of it like Halloween but instead of candies, its money and exclusive to Kerala. At the end of the day, me and and brother would add our “collections” and make a list on what to spend it on. If we were unable to spend it on anything, we would just return it to our parents i.e after Vishu of course!
I didn’t require any “pocket money” in my childhood as everything was available and provided at home only.
In the old days, elder people used to only give coins to younger folk but you know these days, because of inflation and all… (͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)