西方各國送禮習俗

徐振芳

America 美國

An American woman living in Wisconsin volunteered to teach English to a Japanese woman who had moved into the same community. “Before each lesson， and on 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國女士自告奮勇輔導剛搬進同一社區的一位日本女士學習英語。她說：“那位日本女士每次上課、每次拜訪都帶禮物給我，一本書、一些紙刻品、花或是糖果，真令我尷尬。”

Unknowingly， this American was experiencing a vestige of protocol rooted centuries deep in the Japanese culture. 這位美國女士不知不覺中領教了日本幾百年來根深蒂固的文化傳統。

In America， lavish， extravagant 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. In Japan the proper gift is thought to express the givers 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. 在美國，贈送貴重的禮物是行不通的，比較合適的禮物是帶上你要感謝的朋友去吃一頓飯或參加體育娛樂活動。與之相反，在日本送禮是一種制度，一個優良慣例。在日本，恰當的禮物可以傳達送禮之人誠摯的難以言表的友好、感激及尊重之情，所以如果你準備前往日本或有日本朋友前來拜訪，一定要做好準備。

Australia is known for its friendly informality and lack of pretentiousness. So modest gifts， such as a business diary， a paperweight， or a coffee mug might be presented as a memento of a visit of business meeting. At a trade show， T-shirts， ties， baseball caps， or a tie pin may be appropriate mementos. Anything more than these types of gifts could cause embarrassment. 澳大利亞以其友好、不拘禮節及坦誠而聞名，所以在參加商務會議時，送上一個商用記事本、壓紙器或一個咖啡杯再合適不過了。在商業展覽上，贈送T恤衫、領帶、棒球帽或者一個領帶夾最合適。若送比這些東西貴重的禮品反而會使人尷尬。

The most common form of showing appreciation in Greece is probably an evenings 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. 在希臘，表達感激之情最常見的方式可能就是一起參加晚間娛樂活動。如果你要送禮，不要送一些過于親昵的東西，比如領帶襯衣之類。如果希臘人邀請你去家里做客，給女主人送上鮮花或者蛋糕就很合適了。

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 even number of flowers signifies bad luck， as does the number thirteen， and 3）always unwrap the flowers before presenting them. 如果晚宴設在女主人家中，常見的就是給她送花。不過有三個禁忌一定得記住：1）紅玫瑰象征著心儀對方；2）偶數鮮花寓意著倒霉，13朵也是如此；3）獻花之前不要把花包起來。

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. 登門拜訪德國人家里時，帶上能反映你祖國特色的禮物將大受歡迎！也可以給主人家的孩子帶上點小禮物。

Gifts are customarily wrapped and many Germans spend considerable time designing elegant wrappings. Most shops offer gift-wrapping services， too. 禮物一般得包扎，很多德國人會花上一定的時間設計個優雅的包裝。大多數商店也會提供包裝服務。

When you are invited to a persons 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. 當你受邀至某戶人家共進晚餐時，為女主人帶上幾束花或者一盒巧克力就可以啦，不過當然你要是第二天再送花的話，也可算是考慮周到了。

Yellow roses can signify “jealousy.” And in Italy never send chrysanthemums， since they suggest death. 黃玫瑰寓意著“嫉妒”。在意大利人們從來不送菊花，因為這暗示死亡。