Well, the title pretty much sums it up! I don’t think the house itself is new, but they are first-time homeowners here in the US. (They’ve lived here for less than two years.)
Thanks!
I don’t know the answer to the OP, but as my friend is planning to marry a lady recently over from China (and is buying a house soon) I’d like to know too. 
(Related trivia: I believe the ‘traditional’ gift for Chinese weddings is some even denomination of money in a special red envelope.)
From my dad: mainland Chinese are only now starting to really buy houses. Southerners give the same stuff as western people - money, kitchenware, wall-mounted singing fish. There are also the superstitious items like mirrors and hanging bunches of plants and those upside-down door seals. They’ll appreciate anything you’d give to white friends, really. If they’re not superstitious they might actually prefer the utilitarian stuff. You can leave the more adventurous gift-giving to their Chinese friends if you’re not sure.
Oh yeah, hong bao is like the standard Chinese gift. If in doubt, give 'em money. They won’t mind.
According to Miss Manners, the traditional housewarming gift in the US is bread and salt. Maybe you could bring those, (with an explanation ) along with some traditional Chinese gift?
I live in China, and non of our Chinese relatives brought anything but an appetite to any of the places we have bought or moved into.
For the wedding, cash in the red envelope is the norm. 8 is a lucky number so $80 or better $88 is cool. Do not give $40 as 4 sounds like death in Chinese. I’m sureno one would mind getting $100 instead of $88.
Hong Bao is really only for non-married folks and kids.
Give em some oranges.
For Chinese New Year, yes. However, for weddings the ONLY present is cash. And giving cash is crude, so it goes in the red envelope
I think for first time homeowners anything that would add to the decor or have some functionality will be appreciated. I’ve given nice wall clocks and kitchen appliances, and they were appreciated. Giving red envelopes with money works best for family or relatives. For others, a real gift is better. How about a gift certificate to a place like Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, or Linens n’ Things? A new homeowner can definitely use that.
Well that’s interesting. At my wife and I’s wedding reception, we received plenty of cash, in cards and envelopes of all sorts, but no Hong Baos. They were given out, but only to the kids and non-married young folks present.
Maybe it’s a regional thing - my wife and all of her family are from either Hong Kong or Guandong.
I don’t see any problem with this, I’m sure any new homeowner would appreciate these things. Do NOT give them a clock though, unless you know they are not the superstitious type. For a lot of Chinese, giving somebody a clock as a gift is bad manners. It can be seen as saying “I hope your time on this Earth is limited!” :eek:
I never got what that was all about. In primary school when the teachers attempted to teach us about “culture” they did the whole “Chinese manners” business which included:
- Don’t give gifts of soap, because that implies the receiver needs to wash more often :dubious:
- Don’t pass food to other people using chopsticks (how else are you supposed to do it?) because that’s what we do with bones of the deceased (huh?)
- If you burp loudly after a meal that means it was tasty
And other gems like that. As the token Chinese kid in a classroom full of whities I was often left going “Uh… no…” when asked if we actually observed these rules, because it was true: NOBODY we knew actually did this, in China or overseas. Huh.
I have asked countless Chinese people about this and all of them have never heard of it. They have all told me that burping is rude and they make jokes about it(like us).
Where exactly is your student from?
My wife is Chinese. Her family also likes to exchange those red envelopes. I find it rather tacky, but I don’t say anything…
Part of the reason is that burping to signal that you were pleased with the meal is an old Japanese custom, not a Chinese one
I’m sure in this day and age most of these old customs are forgotten or sumply ignored, but there are still people who take it seriously. My brother-in-law gave us a nice clock for Christmas once, in fron of my mother-in-law, and she gave him hell for it chuckle. I didn’t mind, it was a nice clock!
Better to err on the side of caution if you don’t know them pretty well, is all I’m saying.
Worse than this, “Give a Clock” in Chinese has the same sound as “Attend a Funeral”. Definitely stay away from the clocks.
In China (Taiwan too), especially among the older generation there is absolutely nothing wrong with a loud belch - at mealtimes or any other time. Same with breaking wind.
Belching is not de rigeur to show that one appreciated the meal.
Among the say 30 and under crowd, people are much less likely to let out loud bodily noises in a group setting. This is more a city thing, in the countryside the peasants are much more “earthy”.
So, the trend is toward less belching in public.