Customs Religion Culture Jewish Funeral The

Customs/Religion & Culture

Jewish • Funeral– The deceased must be buried as soon as possible. No coffin is used. • Cap on holy grounds • Praying– at least 3 times a day; group praying • Food— ØLivestock: no rabbit meat, pork and horse meat ØFowl: no birds (chicken, duck and goose are o. k. ) ØSeafood: only the ones with fins and scales (no eels, lobsters and crabs) ØDaily product: Milk and cheese can’t be consumed with meat at the same time (6 hrs apart; separate plates for daily product and meat). ØAbsolutely no insects and bugs (vegetable cleaning)

• Star of David • Sabbath— Østarting from the sunset of Friday to the sunset of Saturday ØNo working: farming, driving, writing, sewing, cooking, shopping, business ØNo entertainment, traveling or war

Buddhism • Buddhists believe that life does not begin with birth and end with death, but rather that every person has several lives based upon the lessons of life not yet learned and acts committed (karma 「因果報應」) in previous lives. • Buddhists believe that selfishness and craving result in suffering and that compassion and love bring happiness and well-being.

• The true path to peace is to eliminate all desire, a condition which Buddhists define as ‘nirvana’ （「涅盤」、極樂世界；『 印度教』超脫、解脫) －state free of desire, suffering, or further rebirth, in which a person simply is, and is completely at one with his surroundings.

Five Commandments in Buddhism • • • Don’t kill. Don’t steal or rob. Don’t say inappropriate words. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t lust.

Proper Behavior According to Buddhist Doctrine • Great emphasis and value is placed on outward forms of courtesy such as politeness, respect, and self-control in order to maintain harmonious relations. • It promotes a non-confrontational society, in which public dispute or criticism is to be avoided at all costs. .

• To be openly angry with someone might attract the wrath of the spirits, which in turn could cause violence and tragedy. • Openly criticizing a person is a form of violence as it hurts the person and is viewed as a conscious attempt to offend the person being rebuked. • Loss of face is a disgrace to a Thai so they try to avoid confrontations and look for compromises in difficult situations.

Buddhist Countries

Islam • A single, indivisible God. (God, the creator, is just, omnipotent and merciful. "Allah" is often used to refer to God; it is the Arabic word for God. ) • The Day of Judgment when people will be judged on the basis of their deeds while on earth, and will either attain reward of Heaven or punishment in Hell. They do not believe that Jesus or any other individual can atone for another person's sin. Hell is where unbelievers and sinners spend eternity.

Other beliefs: • The supremacy of God's will. • God did not have a son. Jesus (pbuh) is a prophet, born of the Virgin Mary. • Jesus (pbuh) was not executed on the cross. He escaped crucifixion and was taken up into Paradise. • Alcohol, illegal drugs, eating of pork, etc. are to be avoided. • Gambling is to be avoided.

Ramadan • It takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. • The name "Ramadan" is taken from the name of this month; the word itself derived from an Arabic word for intense heat, scorched ground, and shortness of rations. It is considered the most blessed month of the Islamic year. • Fasting is practiced by most Muslim during the month.

Islamic Countries

Points of Etiquette • Clothing— modest and conservative Violators of dress codes will be frown at or evicted from various places, especially holy sites.

Head Covering The etiquette at many Muslim holy sites requires that a headscarf or some other modest head covering be worn. For women this might be a hijab and for men it might be a kufi, turban or keffiyeh.

turban keffiyeh

Yarmulke Kerchief/veil (Jewish men) (Orthodox Christian)

Clothing taboos for female visitors: • • • Shorts Skirts above the knee Sleeveless blouses Low necklines Bikini at the pool Both men and women from other cultures are expected to wear non-revealing clothes.

Left hand • Among Muslims, the left hand is reserved for bodily hygiene and considered unclean. Thus, the right hand should be used for eating. Shaking hands or handing over an item with one's left hand is an insult.

• Public displays of affection are often frowned upon. This may even include handholding between people of opposite gender.

• In many cases, people of the same gender holding hands while walking is considered an ordinary display of friendship without romantic connotations

• Many people in the Middle East claim a more modest area of personal space than that which is usual elsewhere. Accordingly, it can seem rude for an individual to step away when another individual is stepping closer.

• In regard to vocal emphasis, volume and body language, people in the Middle East may communicate in ways which other people (such as English and Germans) reserve for when they are angry or upset. This should be kept in mind when analyzing the mood of a situation.

• Special respect is paid to older people in many circumstances. This can include standing when older people enter a room, always greeting older people before others present (even if they are better known to you), standing when speaking to one’s elders and serving older people first at a meal table.

• Many people throughout the Middle East, especially Arabs, take great pride in shows of hospitality, never failing to at least serve coffee and a snack such as figs but preferring to present guests with a lavish choice of expensive delicacies in abundance. To refuse such hospitality can cause offense.

• In some areas in the Middle East, it is common for people to take their food from a common plate in the center of the table. Rather than employing forks or spoons, people may scoop up hummus and other foodstuff with pita bread.

• In many Middle Eastern countries, grouping the thumb and fingers together, and shaking it up and down, fingers pointing upwards, indicates "wait".

• In Iraq and Iran, the “thumbs up" gesture is considered an offensive insult.

• Displaying the sole of one's foot or touching somebody with one's shoe is often considered rude. In some circumstances, shoes should be removed before entering a living room.

• Many in the Middle East do not separate professional and personal life. Doing business revolves much more around personal relationships, family ties, trust and honour. There is a tendency to prioritise personal matters above all else. It is therefore crucial that business relationships are built on mutual friendship and trust.

Hinduism • Hindus recognize one God, Brahman （婆 羅門成員之一）, the eternal origin who is the cause and foundation of all existence. • Moksha: Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on how the previous life was lived. • The soul: There are many different conceptions of the soul. What is the soul, where does it live and what happens to it when we die?

Dinning Etiquette of Hindu • The cardinal rule of dining is to always use the right hand when eating or receiving food and never the left. • Everyone must thoroughly wash their hands before sitting at the table as some Indian foods are primarily eaten by hand. Additionally, one must wash their hands after eating the food. • Almost all Hindus consider the cow sacred, and never eat beef.

• In formal settings, it is expected that everyone will wait for the host or the eldest person - the elder taking priority over the host - to begin eating before everyone else starts. • It is not necessary to taste each and every dish prepared; but you must finish everything on the plate as it is considered a respect for served food.

Alcohol and Religion • • • Some religions — most notably Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, the Bahá'í Faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Theravada and most Mahayana schools of Buddhism, some Protestant sects of Fundamentalist Christianity and Hinduism — forbid, discourage, or restrict the consumption of alcoholic beverages for various reasons. In the early Islamic period drinking was considered to be one of the two offences against God, the other being illicit sex. Even now according to Islam several Qur'anic verses are commonly understood to prohibit the use of alcohol. The Qu'ran says that although there are some benefits in alcohol, the sins are greater than the benefits([Qur'an 2: 219]). Only the use of alcohol for medical, scientific, industrial and automotive purposes is allowed. But, the Islamic view on heaven includes promises of "rivers of the finest wine" that are free from alcohol so believers will not suffer intoxication therefrom([Qur'an 37: 47]). Many Christian denominations use wine in the Eucharist and permit the use of alcohol in moderation, while others use unfermented grape juice in the Eucharist and abstain from alcohol by choice or prohibit it outright. The Jewish religion uses wine on Shabbat for Kiddush as well as in the Passover ceremony and in other religious ceremonies, including Purim, and allows the moderate use of alcohol, such as kosher wine. Buddhist texts recommend refraining from drugs and alcohol, because they may inhibit mindfulness. Many Pagan religions, however, have had a completely reverse view on alcohol and drunkenness - some have actively promoted it as means of fertility cult on promoting fertility and sexual lust. Alcohol is seen to increase lust and sexual desires and to lower the threshold of approaching another person. For example, Norse paganism considered alcohol as the sap of Yggdrasil, and drunkenness and intoxication by mushrooms was an important rite of fertility. Somewhat paradoxically, one pharmacodynamic effect of alcohol reduces sexual arousal.