Do's and Taboos of Gift Giving

　　America  美国

　　An American woman living in Wisconsin volunteered to tutor1 English to a Japanese woman who had moved into the same community. “Before each lesson, and on each and every visit,” the American reported, “the Japanese lady brought me a gift — a book, some paper sculpture, flowers, or candy. It was embarrassing.”

　　一位居住在威斯康星州的美国女士自告奋勇辅导刚搬进同一社区的一位日本女士学习英语。她指出：“那位日本妇女每次上课、每次拜访都带礼物给我，一本书、纸刻品、花或是糖果，真令我尴尬。”

　　Unknowingly, this American was experiencing a vestige of protocol rooted centuries deep in the Japanese culture.
　　这位美国女士不知不觉领教了日本几百年来根深蒂固的文化传统。

　　In America, lavish2, extravagant3 gifts are definitely out. An appropriate alternate to a gift is to take the deserving person to dinner, or to an entertainment or sporting event. On the contrary, gift giving is an institution and a revered custom in Japan. According to Business Tokyo magazine, among the Japanese “gift giving is a necessity, not merely a nicety as in the West.” In Japan the proper gift is thought to express the giver’s true friendship, gratitude, and respect far better than words can. So if you plan to visit Japan or to have Japanese visit you here, be prepared.

　　在美国，赠送贵重的礼物是行不通的，比较合适的礼物是带上你要感谢的朋友去赴宴或参加娱乐体育活动。与之相反的是，在日本送礼是一种制度，一个优良惯例。据《东京商业杂志》所言，“日本人送礼至关重要，而不像西方仅把它当作一件不起眼的事。”在日本，恰当的礼物意为表达送礼之人诚挚的难以言表的友好、感激及尊重之情，所以如果你准备前往日本或有日本朋友前来拜访，一定要做好准备。

　　So you know gift giving plays a very important role in nowadays society. Now let’s see what’s happened in other countries.
　　你看，当今社会，送礼发挥着重要作用。现在我们来看看其他国家的情况。

　　Germany 德国 

　　A West Virginia executive, visiting Germany for the first time, was invited to the home of his largest customer. He decided to be gallant4 and bring his hostess a bouquet of flowers. He selected a dozen red roses.
　　一位西弗吉尼亚主管第一次去德国，其最大的客户邀请他上门拜访。他想献殷勤，于是给女主人带了一束鲜花，选的是一打红玫瑰。

　　Oops! Terrible mistake! Social gift giving is popular and well-established in Germany but has certain do’s and don’ts.
　　噢！这个错可犯大了！交际中送礼在德国早已司空见惯，为世人所接受。不过什么可送什么不可送可是大有学问的。

　　Flowers are often taken to a hostess of a dinner party at her home, but there are three taboos to remember: 1)red roses signify a romantic interest, 2)an even5 number of flowers signifies bad luck, as does the number thirteen, and 3)always unwrap the flowers before presenting them. This West Virginia was making what amounted to a pass at his customer’s wife.
　　如果晚宴设在女主人家中，常见的就是给她送花。不过有三个禁忌一定得记住：1）红玫瑰象征着心仪对方；2）偶数鲜花寓意着倒霉，13朵也是如此；3）献花之前不要包扎。这个西弗吉尼亚人送红玫瑰让人以为他对客户的妻子有意思呢！
　　
　　When visiting a German home, gifts that reflect your home country are popular, and you might want to bring small gifts for the children of the family you are visiting.
　　登门拜访德国人时，带上能反映你祖国特色的礼物将大受欢迎！也可以给主人家的孩子带上点小礼物。

　　Gifts are customarily6 wrapped and many Germans spend considerable time designing elegant wrappings. Most shops offer gift-wrapping services, too.
　　礼物一般得包扎，很多德国人会花上一定的时间设计个优雅的包装。大多数商店也会提供包装服务。

　　Greece 希腊

　　The most common form of showing appreciation in Greece is probably an evening’s entertainment. If you do present a gift, avoid personal items, such as ties and shirts. If you are invited to a Greek home, flowers or a cake for the hostess are an appropriate gift.

　　在希腊，表达感激之情最常见的方式可能就是晚间娱乐活动。如果你要送礼，不要送一些过于亲昵的东西，比如领带衬衣之类。如果希腊人邀请你去其家做客，给女主人送上鲜花或者蛋糕就很合适了。

　　Italy 意大利

　　When you are invited to a person’s home for dinner, it might be nice to bring flowers or a box of chocolates for your hostess, although it is just as considerate to have the flowers sent the next day.
　　Yellow roses can signify “jealousy.” And in Italy never send chrysanthemums7, since they suggest death.

　　当你受邀至某户人家共进晚餐时，为女主人带上几束花或者一盒巧克力就可以啦，不过当然你要是第二天再送花的话，也可算是考虑周到了。
　　黄玫瑰寓意着“嫉妒”。在意大利人们从来不送菊花，因为这暗示死亡。

　　Australia 澳大利亚

　　Australia is known for its friendly informality and lack of pretentiousness8. So modest gifts, such as a business diary, a paperweight, or a coffee mug might be presented as a memento9 of a visit of business meeting. At a trade show, T-shirts, ties, baseball caps, or a pin may be appropriate mementos. Anything more than these types of gifts could cause embarrassment.

　　澳大利亚以其友好，不拘礼节及坦诚而闻名，所以在参加商务会议时，送上一个商用记事本、纸镇或一个咖啡杯再合适不过了。在商业展览上，赠送T恤衫、领带、棒球帽或者一个大头针最合适做纪念品了。若送比这些东西贵重的礼品反而会致人尴尬。

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