Germany 德国

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。

一位西弗吉尼亚主管第一次去德国，其最大的客户邀请他上门拜访。他想献殷勤，于是给女主人带了一束鲜花，选的是一打红玫瑰。

Oops! Terrible mistake! Social gift giving is popular and well-established in Germany but has certain do's and don'ts。

噢！这个错可犯大了！交际中送礼在德国早已司空见惯，为世人所接受。不过什么可送什么不可送可是大有学问的。

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。

如果晚宴设在女主人家中，常见的就是给她送花。不过有三个禁忌一定得记住：1)红玫瑰象征着心仪对方；2)偶数鲜花寓意着倒霉，13朵也是如此；3)献花之前不要包扎。这个西弗吉尼亚人送红玫瑰让人以为他对客户的妻子有意思呢！

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。

登门拜访德国人时，带上能反映你祖国特色的礼物将大受欢迎！也可以给主人家的孩子带上点小礼物。

Gifts are customarily6 wrapped and many Germans spend considerable time designing elegant wrappings. Most shops offer gift-wrapping services, too。

礼物一般得包扎，很多德国人会花上一定的时间设计个优雅的包装。大多数商店也会提供包装服务。

Italy 意大利

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。

Yellow roses can signify “jealousy。” And in Italy never send chrysanthemums7, since they suggest death。

当你受邀至某户人家共进晚餐时，为女主人带上几束花或者一盒巧克力就可以啦，不过当然你要是第二天再送花的话，也可算是考虑周到了。

黄玫瑰寓意着“嫉妒”。在意大利人们从来不送菊花，因为这暗示死亡。