 For all men who are falling in love with Spanish girls, flowers are appriciated but you should be careful for the number, 13 flowers is considered bad luck. In this case, certainly, it is bad luck of the givers
The art of giving
THE ART OF GIVING
Christmas and New year will visit us again. Most people look forward to this greeting season. Someone is planning to have New year party while someone is being
busy with finding gifts for friends and family. It seems to be easy to find a gift for someone but do not forget that gift ritual of each country is different.
Something accepted in one country may be inacceptable in another one. So, it is important to know about “What and How to Give”.
Well, we begin with flowers, general but romantic gift which we always see in movies. If your friends are Egyptians, delete flowers from your list because
in Egypt, flowers signify unhappiness. Because they are traditionally used for funeral. If you insist to give them to your friends, be sure that your friends are
very westernized. In Thailand, flowers are acceptable except marigolds or carrnations since they are associated with funeral. In Norway and Ecuador,
giving flowers as a gift is a good idea but lilies and marigolds are avoided in the last country while lilies, carnations and whilte flowers are denied in the first one.
For all men who are falling in love with Spanish girls, flowers are appriciated but you should be careful for the number, 13 flowers is considered bad luck.
In this case, certainly, it is bad luck of the givers.
Puppies are also a choice in top ten list but if your friends are Muslim, forget it because dog is considered unclean. Then, giving real dog or picture are
inappropriate idea which can blemish the relationship between you and your friends. If you are looking for gifts to your Muslim friends, good quality
compass is recommended so that they can use it to point in the direction of Mecca when they pray.
Before giving gifts to your foreigner friends, knowing background of their hometown is necessary. For example, Argentina is a major cattle and leather
producer, giving leather gifts to those who come from this country cannot make them be impressive.
Besides gift, wrapping should be chosen attentively. In some countries, color of wrapping has very important role. Avoiding white, black or blue for
Chinese gifts because these colors are associated with death in Chinese culture. In India, white and black are considered unlucky. In both countries, red, pink,
yellow and green are acceptable. Chinese believe red is a lucky color while yellow and pink signify happiness and prosperity.
Hand is important, too. In Egypt and Israel you have to give or receive gifts with right hand or both hands but not with left hand. In China, presenting or
receiving with both hands is acceptable.
Open gifts in the presence of the givers is considered impolite in Thailand, China, Singapore and India but this is traditionally done in many western countries.
If your friends are from Taiwan, do not forget to insist three time when giving a gift to them because they always initially decline.
Someone may wonder if the writer forget “Japan” where most people place importance on gift ritual. No, I do not. But Japanese gift ritual is very special and interesting.
There are many things to talk about and I cannot end the story within this writing. So, Japanese gift ritual will become the hightlight of the column next time. Do not miss to enjoy your read.
Solange
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