At graduations across California, graduates' necks will be laden...with leis. 

Loosely based on the traditional Hawaiian and Pacific Islander garland often made of leaves and flowers, money leis are a way to celebrate the wearer and mark the occasion.

Money leis began appearing in Southern California in the early 1990s, likely spurred by a connection with Hawaiian culture, said California State University Monterey Bay Anthropology lecturer Lorenzo Covarrubias.

The trend has since expanded to other parts of the state.

Leis are an acknowledgement of sacred interactions, said Covarrubias. 

"It's easier and prettier to give money this way than in the traditional way," he said. "Sometimes here in the U.S. we turn ceremonial practices into practical ones, but the meaning is still there, we just don't have the words.

Some givers intend money leis to be held on to as keepsakes, while others use them as a way to creatively gift cash. 

"It's a beautiful act by a beautiful loved one," Covarrubias said. "It bonds people. It reminds us that money is symbolic, it's not just a piece of exchange."

Salinas High School junior Ethan Yu has grown up with a tradition of giving -- and receiving -- money leis at graduation time, thanks to his aunt, who has Hawaiian heritage. 

Everyone in his family gets them as a gift for graduation, even a cousin who grew up in North Carolina where, Yu said, the other graduates were flummoxed by the leis. 

In Yu's family, the lei is both a celebration of the hard work it took to graduate, and a stash of cash to help you through the tough times.

"It's the safe," said Yu. "It's like the vault, the rainy-day money, just in case."

Asian American historian Gerry Low-Sabado did not give her children, now 36 and 40, money leis for their graduations, but she said the trend could be practically motivated.

"When my husband and I got married we did the money dance, where people pin money on (the dancers') clothes," she said. "It's an important sendoff for married people so for graduation I would think it's the same thing, for modern young people. It's just important to help our young ones going off to college."

But while money leis may symbolize the bond between loved ones, it is also a side-hustle for many who sell the leis online and in-person.

Claudia Rico, a South Salinas resident, works as a sterilizer at a dental office in Gilroy. She started making money leis about three years ago, when one of her cousins graduated from CalPoly. She learned by watching YouTube tutorials, she said.

Since then, Rico has turned her crafting habit into a money-making side business. She tends to get requests for personalized leis, utilizing school colors or even themes for the kids. 

"Sometimes I think they're more for the parents than they are for the kids," Rico said.

She has made leis for everyone from pre-K graduates to university grads, even making Deadpool- and Elsa-themed leis.

Rico, who graduated from Everett Alvarez in 2004, didn't wear a money lei, but she knew some in her graduating class who did. Now, she said, it seems like everyone has a money lei, or three.

"It is a status symbol," Rico said. "Some kids, especially the popular ones, they rack up three or four of them so you can’t even see their faces."

Still, she said, it's a nice gesture. "Anyone can buy flowers," she said. "Money leis are something you can carry with you and know that your family’s proud of you."

Rico's first year, she just about broke even. Last year, she pulled in about $200 and expects to make at least that this year. 

"This is a way to de-stress," she said. "And (it's) a little bit of side money. Everybody needs that, these days."

While coveted, leis can vary in price. In Facebook groups, on Nextdoor or Instagram, they sell for $25 -- Rico's starting price point -- others go for much more. She sometimes charges more, depending on how much money is folded into the lei.

Tesha Craft of Watsonville, similarly to Rico, began making money leis after she folded one for her son, who graduated from Watsonville High School in 2018. 

In her neck of the woods, the garlands have gotten so popular that money leis are no longer just for graduates: relatives also give them as birthday gifts or simply to mark a special occasion. 

Sensing a new market, Craft decided to get in on the action. Although she has just started making and selling leis, hers cost between $20 and $80, depending on how much money is folded to make the leis themselves. A lei with $50 folded into it, for example, typically costs an additional $20 or $30 for the labor, depending on how intensive it is.

Craft is so serious about her new venture that she's even employed another young woman to help her fold them.

"I’ve made probably about 20 of them, and I hope to make hundreds of them," Craft said. "There’s no telling how many I’ll make."

Craft has begun to market hers on Facebook marketplace and Instagram, while Rico sells hers mainly through word-of-mouth, though she recently began to sell through an Instagram account and Nextdoor posts.

Next, Rico hopes to become a vendor on Etsy and make and sell money leis year-round. On the popular "buy handmade" site, money leis come in all kinds of colors and designs -- some utilize ribbon, others beads, while still others are made of pure, folded money -- and can sell for hundreds of dollars. 

She has already stocked up on ribbons, stickers, beads and hot glue. All she's waiting on, she said, are the orders.

Kate Cimini is a multimedia journalist for The Californian. Have a tip? Call her at (831) 776-5137 or email kcimini@thecalifornian.com. Subscribe to support local journalism.