Whether for a special holiday， as a token of gratitude or just a way of letting someone know you care， gift giving is a universal custom. Though the intent may be similar from place to place， traditions vary widely from one country to the next. A gesture that conveys respect in one place might be considered offensive somewhere else. Take a look at our list of unique gift giving traditions from around the world.

無論是為了某個(gè)特別的節(jié)日，還是為了表達(dá)感謝，抑或是為了讓對(duì)方明白你很在乎，贈(zèng)送禮物都是人類共同的習(xí)俗。各地贈(zèng)禮的目的也許相似，但贈(zèng)禮的傳統(tǒng)卻因國(guó)而異。在某地表示尊重的贈(zèng)禮行為，在另一個(gè)地方看來則可能會(huì)被視為無禮。一起來看看世界各地獨(dú)一無二的贈(zèng)禮傳統(tǒng)吧。

Here in the US， a set of kitchen knives seems like the perfect gift idea for a wedding or holiday. However， in certain European countries like Germany， tradition dictates that a knife presented as a gift will sever your friendship. There is a way to beat this tradition： Tie a penny to the knife or gift box. The receiver then returns the penny to you as a “payment” to nullify the bad luck.

在美國(guó)，一套廚房刀具似乎是十分理想的婚禮或節(jié)日禮物。然而在某些歐洲國(guó)家，如德國(guó)，傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)俗讓人們相信贈(zèng)送刀具會(huì)割斷朋友之間的友誼。打破這種風(fēng)俗的辦法是：在刀或禮品盒上綁一枚硬幣。收禮人把硬幣還給贈(zèng)禮之人以示“付款”，用以抵消厄運(yùn)。

In Britain， diamonds are 60th wedding anniversary gifts.

在英國(guó)，60周年結(jié)婚紀(jì)念日的禮物是鉆石。

Lottery tickets are bought and exchanged here more than they are anywhere else in the world， and often make a suitable birthday gift. Though diamonds originally symbolised 75 years of married life in the UK， they are now associated with 60， as Victorias 60 years on the throne marked her Jubilee.

在英國(guó)，彩票的購(gòu)買、兌換比世界上任何地方都要多，而且適合作為生日禮物。原本鉆石在英國(guó)象征75年婚姻生活，但由于維多利亞女王在登基60年時(shí)舉辦了鉆禧慶典，因而現(xiàn)在鉆石代表60周年紀(jì)念。

At an Italian wedding， buy yourself a piece of the tie.

參加意大利婚禮，給自己買片領(lǐng)帶。

Theres a well-known Italian wedding tradition where the grooms tie is cut into a number of tiny pieces. Wedding guests can then “buy” these tie slices in exchange for cash. Its a fun way to give money to the bride and groom and leave guests with a wedding souvenir. In addition to a visit from Santa， Italian kids have their stockings filled by a witch at the end of Epiphany on January 6. Interestingly， gifts are not exchanged between or within companies， as the act is deemed a little tacky.

意大利婚禮上有名的傳統(tǒng)就是把新郎的領(lǐng)帶切成許多小片?；槎Y來賓通過“購(gòu)買”這些領(lǐng)帶片以交換現(xiàn)金給新人。這種有趣的方式既讓賓客得到婚禮紀(jì)念品，又給新郎新娘隨了禮金。意大利的小朋友除了受到圣誕老人的眷顧，在1月6日主顯節(jié)結(jié)束時(shí)，還會(huì)收到“女巫”裝進(jìn)他們襪子里的禮物。有趣的是，公司之間或公司內(nèi)部不會(huì)互贈(zèng)禮物，因?yàn)槿藗冋J(rèn)為這種行為有點(diǎn)俗氣。

In Japan， presentation is paramount.

在日本，贈(zèng)禮方式至關(guān)重要。

The Japanese place a great emphasis on the act of gift giving （its not unheard of to send a thank-you gift for a thank-you gift）， and presentation plays a big role in determining how your gift is received. For example， its considered distasteful to hand off uncovered cash. So whether youre sending money as a gift or just leaving a tip， place your money in an envelope to ensure its received in a respectful manner. Its also customary to place a tight decorative knot on a wedding gift envelope， since folklore dictates that the envelope should be “impossible to open”.

日本人非常重視贈(zèng)禮（因收到感謝禮物而又贈(zèng)出感謝禮物也不足為奇），而贈(zèng)禮方式直接影響禮物的接收。舉例來說，贈(zèng)送無包裝的現(xiàn)金會(huì)令人不快。那么，無論用作禮物還是支付小費(fèi)的現(xiàn)金都要裝進(jìn)信封，保證收禮物的人受到尊重。按照慣例，人們會(huì)在新婚禮物的信封上打個(gè)裝飾死結(jié)，因?yàn)槊耖g傳說新婚禮物的信封應(yīng)該“打不開”。

In China， red envelopes and even denominations bring good luck.

在中國(guó)，紅包和雙數(shù)會(huì)帶來好運(yùn)。

Chinese New Year has a rich set of traditions. One of the most popular customs of this holiday is giving out money in red envelopes. Known as “yasuiqian” which means “the money used to suppress the evil spirit”， these gifts are meant to bring good luck. In addition to how you give money， theres also tradition around the amount you give. Gifting an odd numbered amount of money is associated with the “baijin”， gifts given during funerals， and is considered bad luck. Its important to make sure that even the first digit is even， as numbers like 30 and 50 are considered odd.

中國(guó)新年有一整套豐富的傳統(tǒng)。節(jié)日里最流行的習(xí)俗之一就是贈(zèng)送紅包，這叫作“壓歲錢”，古時(shí)之意是“用來鎮(zhèn)惡驅(qū)邪的錢”，是要帶來好運(yùn)的。除了送錢的方式，對(duì)禮金的金額也有傳統(tǒng)說法，認(rèn)為單數(shù)金額跟“白金”（葬禮上的禮金）相聯(lián)系，被視為厄運(yùn)。哪怕是禮金的第一位數(shù)都一定要保證是雙數(shù)，像30和50都被視為單數(shù)。

Word Study

universal /'ju：n?'v??sl/ adj. 普遍的;全世界的;共同的

Such problems are a universal feature of old age.

convey /k?n've?/ v. 表達(dá)，傳遞

Colors like red convey a sense of energy and strength.

sever /'sev?（r）/ v. 斷絕;中斷

even /'i?vn/ adj. 雙數(shù)的;偶數(shù)的（反義詞為odd）

4， 6， 8， 10 are all even numbers， and 5， 7， 9 are odd numbers.

determine /d?'t??m?n/ v. 決定;影響