Wine is very important in Chinese lunch or dinner. Drink as much as you can is an essential sign of your respect to the host. So please never try to reject this while having a meal with your host. Wine from Europe also is considered a great gift to give on a first meeting with the host.
Most Filipinos are Christian and more than half of them are Roman Catholics. They are very familiar and do use rosaries. A rosary is something that they use to guide them with prayers or how to pray, usually in a bracelet-like o necklace-like form, and has a number of beads and a cross in the middle. The beads were put together by a string or a thick thread-like material. People say that couples should not give each other or a person should not give his or her partner a rosary because if it breaks and beads scatter, the good relationship might as well break.
Aside from being warm in welcoming visitors, tourists, or new friends, Filipino people are also known to find joy in giving. They usually give gifts especially if there are special occasions. Some people may choose to give wallets or bags because, of course, that can be very useful and can be used daily by the person to whom they will be giving gifts. In the Philippines, they would give those with some amount (small, big, paper bill, or coin—it does not actually matter) inside for it is believed that if they do that, the person who will receive the gift will never run short of money while using the item.
Lovers must not give rosary or necklace to each other, if it breaks, the relationship might also get broken
Don’t accept footwear from a friend; he/she might be stepping on your toes later.
When giving a purse/wallet as a gift, put some coins/notes in it. This brings good financial luck for the person receiving it.
Don’t give white flowers as a present. This is considered rude as this is traditionally given during wake and burial.
Though it is not legal to do in China giving a bear claw to your host is considered as a great honor. The bear claw represents respect, strength and honor. There a rumors that some respected hotels in Hong Kong still keep a bear claw in the freezer for when a special person visits their hotel.
Giving a talisman to hang beside a main door is considered very lucky to the Chinese. In China there are many places where you can buy this talisman. Try to ask some locals on where to find them.
We all know knives and letter openers don’t make good gifts, as they’re sharp and potentially harmful. Once, a few days after a picnic, I had to return a knife to a friend who’d forgotten to take hers home. Hm, what to do? I put two pieces of fruit in a small bag, added the knife to it. That way I gave her a nice gift (fruit, healthy, sweet, double=lucky) and i added her knife to peel them. How thoughtful and convenient! I’d turned the nasty main actor into a nice supporting actor…
When you are offered a gift by your host in China always refuse it first. By accepting a gift directly people might get the feeling that you are very greedy. Normally a gift is refused 3 times before it is accepted.
When you wrap a gift please try to avoid using white paper. This because the color of white is connected to death and funerals. A good color to wrap your gifts in is red.
