Table manners are a very important part of Canadian culture. All newcomers want to feel that they are part of their new culture. Knowing these table manners helps you feel comfortable.

【小题1】 It is the most important rule you should remember. In Canada, chewing (咀嚼) with your mouth open is regarded as bad manners. Never do that when you have dinner with a Canadian.

【小题2】 Just eat it even though it doesn’t taste as nice as you think. After all, food can never satisfy everyone. Just enjoy the food and never make comments (评论) about it.

【小题3】 You can use a fork to pick up the food you want. In some countries like India, it’s okay to use your hands to pick up food, but in Canada, you’d better not do that.

【小题4】 Interrupting (打断) is impolite when someone else is talking. If you want to speak out your idea, you can wait until his or her speech is over. Nobody wants to be interrupted when he or she is saying something. You’d better not speak out your idea loudly.

【小题5】 It is also regarded as a bad manner. Instead, you can ask someone to pass the food you like to you. You can say, “Could you please pass me the...?” In fact, everybody likes to help you.

Two years ago, I got a job in a Chinese-Canadian company in Vancouver. One day my new boss said he would invite me to lunch to celebrate my new job in a Chinese restaurant. “A Chinese restaurant? Chopsticks? Oh no! Will I make a complete fool of myself?” I thought.

That evening, I cooked noodles and spent two whole hours trying to learn how to use chopsticks. Try as I might, I didn’t succeed. I called my pen friend and asked her to explain exactly how to use chopsticks. She patiently explained the proper way of holding them between the thumb (拇指), index and middle fingers. “Louise, it’s not that hard,” she said. “That’s easy for you to say,” I replied. “You’ve been eating with chopsticks all your life. It’s natural for you!”

I didn’t sleep well that night. The next day, when my boss took two co-workers and me to the restaurant, he spoke to the server in Chinese. My heart was beating fast, but then I noticed something strange. Instead of chopsticks, we all had knives, forks and spoons. I didn’t understand at first, but then, it hit me. My boss knew that I would have trouble with chopsticks. To save me from embarrassment (尴尬), he had arranged for us to be served with knives, forks and spoons. I couldn’t believe how thoughtful he was.

Now, we often go out for lunch. After a lot of practice, I’ve mastered how to use chopsticks. And it isn’t really that difficult once you get used to it.

Tihar is one of the most important festivals for Hindus in Nepal. The festival of Tihar takes place in late autumn and lasts for five days.

It is a time when people light oil lamps (油灯). This festival is about worshiping (敬仰) different animals such as the crow (乌鸦) on the first day, the dog on the second day, and the cow on the third day. During Tihar, people also worship their brothers and sisters and the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

On the first day, people give the crow much rice to eat. They put flowers around the dogs’ necks on the following day. The third day is the most important day of the festival. Early in the morning, people start to worship the cow. The cow is the symbol of wealth. They put tika (提卡) on the cows’ foreheads and some flowers around their necks. They give the cows nice things to eat. People place the cows’manure (粪肥) in different parts of their houses. Later, in the evening, they worship the goddess Lakshmi. If people please the goddess, she will give them wealth. People clean and decorate (装饰) their houses. They put oil lamps in every door and window. A woman of the family performs a special ceremony. She then puts a red mud footprint on the floor entering the home and makes a trail to the room where the family worships the goddess. In this room, there are pictures of the goddess. There is also a money box where each year the family puts money away for the goddess. In the evening, girls go from door to door and sing songs of the goddess. They receive gifts in return.