Special Issues

 

The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English. The government’s language policy is to teach Cantonese, Mandarin and English. In comparison, Chinese and Portuguese are the current official languages In Macau. Residents generally use Cantonese to communicate daily, but many residents can understand Mandarin. 

 

When Hongkongese express their gratitude to the guests, they often use the "ring of fingers" (i.e.  bending their fingers and tapping their fingers on the table). It is said that the ritual is evolved from the kowtow ceremony, and the ringer means the kowtow. In conversation, there are different ways to say thanks. You can say “dor jay” when you receive favors and “ng goi” when thanking for someone’s good service.

 

Also, there are several taboos that you need to keep in mind when dealing with Hongkongese:

1. When visiting patients, please avoid giving gladiolus hibiscus (a type of flower), because ”Gladiolus” is a homonym for ”being difficult”.

2. Jasmine must not be given to merchants because ”jasmine” is a homonym for ”unfavorable”.

3. When visiting someone’s home, you can prepare some fruits in advance as a gift. Do not go empty-handed to visit others.

4. Hongkongese also dislike those inquiring personal information without proper reasoning, such as home address, personal wage income, age, and other conditions.

5. In Mandarin and Cantonese speaking region, number ”4” is a taboo, because ”4” is homo-phonic for ”dead”.

6. In restaurants in Hong Kong, the first ordered dish cannot be ”fried rice”, because ”fried” in Hong Kong means “Get fired/lose job”.

 

Macau and Hong Kong both belong to the Canton area, so basically the customs and taboos are very similar. However, Macao also has its own particularities that should be taken into account to some extent.

 

Macau is close to Guangdong province China, and the majority of Macanese are Cantonese. Therefore, the lifestyle and customs of Cantonese profoundly influence Macau. As an intersection of Chinese and Western cultures, the traditional customs of Macao are also evolving.

 

Influenced by Portugal, the former sovereign state, Macau celebrates Christmas as the second most important festival after Lunar New Year. Moreover, there are other Christian holidays such as Easter day and All Souls’ Day, as well. However, many festivals from other religions and some traditional Chinese lunar holidays in Macau are not regarded as public holidays, for example the ”Bon festival” on July 14 of the lunar calendar.

 

The worship of Mazu is one of the Macau’s important folk belief. Mazu (also known as Tin Hau) is a sea goddess worshipped by Chinese fishermen.

Ma Temple in Macau was built in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1605). The A-Ma Temple, still standing on the shores of Macau, is a symbol of Macau’s long history. 

 

The biggest festival of Chinese is the Spring Festival. Other than the common customs like red packets, Macau and Hong Kong have the tradition of going to flower market where they mostly sell peach flowers, narcissus, potted bamboo and potted orange which show the bright future of the New Year.

 

Hongkongese mainly believe in Buddhism and Taoism and Chinese God. Although they inherit the traditional religious beliefs and customs, they do not have the awareness and concepts of believers.

 

The traditional festivals of Hong Kong and Macau are pretty much like mainland China such as the Spring Festival, Ching Ming, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chung Yeung. In addition, traditional activities such as “Burning clothes” (Bon Festival, Lunar Calendar July 14), Birthday of Buddha, Birthday of Kuan Yin, Birthday of Tin Hau (Chinese Gods), etc. are also important for them.