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.”
一位居住在威斯康辛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。她指出：「那位日本婦女每次上課、每次拜訪都帶禮物給我，一本書、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領教了日本幾百年來根深蒂固的文化傳統。

America

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赴宴或參加娛樂體育活動。與之相反的是，在日本送禮是一種制度，一個優良慣例。據《東京商業雜誌》所言，「日本人送禮至關重要，而不像西方僅把它當作一件不起眼的事。」在日本，恰當的禮物意為表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。

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，當今社會，送禮發揮著重要作用。現在我們來看看其他國家的情況。


Germany

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.
一位西佛吉尼亞主管第一次去德國，其最大的客戶邀請他上門拜訪。他想獻殷勤，於是給女主人帶了一束鮮花，選的是一打紅玫瑰。

Oops! Terrible mistake! Social gift giving is popular and well-established in Germany but has certain do’s and don’ts.
噢！這個錯可犯大了！交際中送禮在德國早已司空見慣，為世人所接受。不過什麼可送什麼不可送可是大有學問的。

● 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）紅玫瑰象徵著心儀對方；2）偶數鮮花寓意著倒楣，13朵也是如此；3）獻花之前不要包紮。這個西佛吉尼亞人送紅玫瑰讓人以為他對客戶的妻子有意思呢！

● 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.
登門拜訪德國人時，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 customarily6 wrapped and many Germans spend considerable time designing elegant wrappings. Most shops offer gift-wrapping services, too.
禮物一般得包紮，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。


Greece

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.
在希臘，表達感激之情最常見的方式可能就是晚間娛樂活動。如果你要送禮，不要送一些過於親昵的東西，比如領帶襯衣之類。如果希臘人邀請你去其家做客，給女主人送上鮮花或者蛋糕就很合適了。


Italy

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.
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 chrysanthemums7, since they suggest death.
黃玫瑰寓意著「嫉妒」。在義大利人們從來不送菊花，因為這暗示死亡。


The United Kingdom

“When going to stay at a very grand house, it is not correct to take a gift. However, when going to a country cottage or a person’s residence, it would be thoughtful to inquire if you might bring a bottle of wine but gifts are better sent after the visit, when you have had a choice to establish your host’s interests.” According to a respected guide.
據一位德高望重的導遊所言：「當你前往一所豪宅時，帶禮物是不合宜的。但是，當你前往鄉村小屋或某人的住宅時，明智之舉是先詢問一下是否需要帶上一瓶紅酒。若要送禮，最好是在拜訪過後等你有機會確定主人的愛好時再送。」

Bringing a book, flowers, or wine to a dinner party might inconvenience the hostess, who must take time to admire the book, arrange the flowers or quickly replace the wine already selected.
若參加晚宴，帶一本書、一束鮮花或者一瓶紅酒會給女主人帶來不便，因為她還得花時間讚美你帶的書、放置鮮花或者迅速更換掉她已經選好的紅酒。


Australia

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、紙鎮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、棒球帽或者一個大頭針最合適做紀念品了。若送比這些東西貴重的禮品反而會致人尷尬。

來源：《視聽英語》