Once, in a newspaper, I saw an article whose author said，“Don’t wear your shoes into a Japanese house. And don’t stick your chopsticks into your rice and leave them standing there—otherwise my wife will kill you”. I was puzzled at the beginning, and then understood that the Japanese regard this sort of behavior as unlucky. Not only the Japanese, but also other people from other cultures have their particular taboos. For example, in England, never give a lily as a gift at any time other than Easter, because old people in England associate white lilies with death and funerals. Lilies will be considered unlucky in America, too. In Japan, don’t give a potted plant as a get-well gift to a hospitalized person, because it will cause him to be “rooted” in the hospital. And in China, you should never give a clock to a person, especially an old one, as his birthday present, or you will cause a hostile atmosphere, for “clock” is pronounced the same as “death’’ in Chinese. Drawing the Swastika is regarded as taboo in Germany; I think that is because of the terrible history of the Nazis! The appropriateness of physical contact varies in different cultures. In America, physical contact is generally avoided in conversation among ordinary friends or acquaintances. Merely touching someone may cause an unpleasant reaction. If one touches another person accidentally, the offender usually utters an apology such as "Sorry", "Oh, I'm sorry", "Excuse me". Chinese people are used to showing their love to children by fondling, however, American mothers are not used to this. Such behaviors---whether touching, patting, hugging, or kissing---can be quite embarrassing and awkward for mothers from American context. They know that no harm is meant, and that such gestures are merely signs of friendliness or affection, therefore, they cannot openly show their displeasure. On the other hand, such actions in their own culture would be considered rude, intrusive and offensive. This is especially true with little girls, as an embrace by a male adult may be perceived suspiciously as possibly obscene. So the mothers often stand by and watch in awkward silence, with mixed emotions, even when the fondling is by Chinese friends or acquaintances. Meanwhile, there are different things that are considered lucky in different cultures. For instance, Englishmen knock on wood for luck and they think four-leaf clovers are lucky. Magpies are the lucky birds for Chinese, no matter how many there are, while for the British, one magpie is unlucky: you must look for a second one. In India, cows are sacred. People will never totally understand why some things are looked on as taboo or lucky objects in other people’s opinion. Maybe some will consider it superstition. However, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do’’, so from this thinks i know that different cultures will help us avoid misunderstandings.
