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Q: What Chinese customs, traditions, superstitions and practices do you find strange?
My mother in law holds my son over a rubbish bin and whistles to his penis, as she believes this will make him urinate. She also sticks small red envelopes of cash down his trousers from time to time as she believes this will give him luck in money. In fact a great many of her superstitious practices are meant to bring luck in money, which seems ironic as she has been practising them herself all her life and she doesn't have two pennies to rub together..
So what other customs, etc, do you find peculiar in China?
I find a very different version of Buddhism in china... Budha left all his wealth and lived simple... but here they are believing in buddha just to get good luck and more money next year...
spring festival.. there will be one idol of buddha.. candles etc and they keep food-rice/meat & lot of money.. which means next year to have good luck to have lot of food and money
When baby one month function.. should carry baby across a river and come back... it could be a 3 m wide small canal... no problem... forgot what was that for....
My wife has been pregnant for 4 weeks now. Today the in-laws took her iPhone, iPad, iD, iQ...you name it. She's banned from watching tv and she has taken a leave of absence from work. Methinks this is gonna be a long ordeal.
Gaohao:
Methinks you thinks right mate. My mother in-law insisted on bringing eight chickens to live on our balcony the week our kid came. Provide us with fresh meat. The only request I had for her (beyond "Get out, get out, GET OUT!) was to provide us with some fresh air.
andyinshenyang:
Never posted on this site before, but I just had to say I feel for you. You poor bastard!
derek:
andy, glad to have taken your posting cherry...that's as close to sex I guess I'm gonna get for a while, lol
Thakkudu:
is she wearing a special silver color apron/overcoat ? its supposed to protect the baby from radiation... belief of most young women.. not one coming from old generation
The usage of fireworks and firecrackers to scare demons away. It doesn't even scare people away, why would it scare demons and bad spirits away. You think it would attract them if anything.
I find the practice of feng shui kind of interesting. I'd like to learn more about it.
Gaohao:
Isn't feng shui just a psuedo-spiritual approach to tasteful decorating? Put your bed facing this direction helps the flow of chi and some such like. Not pretending I understand it but the mother in-law's into it and it seems to me to be more akin to superstition than anything of any real spiritual value.
Why marry a Chinese man or woman when you can't handle the custom?
derek:
Who says they can't handle the customs? You should relax before you get schooled here. Oh, I get it, you're one of those guys who will eventually tell us, "If you don't like China, leave!"
Grow up!
According to my roommate, her mom believes that the siting of a garbage truck will lead to a bad day. And I told her, "only if you are at the wrong end of it". 
I got yelled at yesterday for drinking a cold coke with spicy food because "it will make you sick."
The inability to eat cold food (even if it's cooked)
Toddlers with holes in their pants.....
a practice I find a little odd....
The way they will place a fingertip over one nostril and blow snot out of their nose onto the public walkway. I feel sorry for Chinese women sometimes. I ask my young female friends if they will date boys who do that or spit or smoke. They tell me No. But of course the older generation is stuck with it.
It is one of those actions that no one should have to explain to you is reprehensible, kinda like the old man licking the monkeys butt... If you have to be told that that is grotesque behavior, then I fear you may be a lost cause.
Strange?!!!!!!!!.........Nothing is strange......maybe............LOL
