Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Guests’ Gifts for Chinese Wedding

 Guests’ Gifts for Chinese Wedding

For wedding guests, it sometimes seems that there are more things to be avoided than chosen.

For instance, avoid giving clocks (the word clock, zhong, sounds like ‘bury somebody’ in Chinese),refrain from sending white things(the white things always represent for sorrowful and impoverished things in Chinese culture)(engraved ceramic ring for women),avert from giving black things(the black things mean unfortunate and adversity in Chinese culture),


avoid giving pears (the word pear, li, sounds like separate in Chinese), refrain from sending umbrella (the word umbrella ,san, sounds like break up in Chinese) Stay away from sets of four (the word four, si, sounds like ‘death’ in Chinese) and instead opt for other even numbers or a set of eight.(tungsten carbide wedding bands ring)

It’s also best not to give knives to a Chinese couple, (the knives too sharp, and mean relation broken in Chinese culture),although this is a common wedding gift in the West. In a word, avoid giving anything that comes in a frame.


When in doubt, the best gift you can bring to a Chinese wedding is money. Typically, money is wrapped in a small red envelope, which comes specially designed with auspicious symbols and sayings printed on the front. Make sure that the money is crisp and new and, again, avoid multiples of four, except eight, which is a lucky number. In lieu of cash, checks are also fine.

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