Difference of table etiquette between eastern and western cultures
There are differences and similarities between the etiquette at table between the eastern and western cultures. To raise a few examples, we could talk about the differences of both cultures. Westerners would use silverware such as forks, knives and soup spoons, which are made of stainless steel.Easterners would use chopsticks and soup spoons. In certain part of Southern Asia, people eat with their hands.
Dinner table and table seating arrangements are different between the two customs. The dinner table for the west is mostly rectangle while the east is round.
In addition, there are differences in the ways foods are served between the two cultures, the westerners serve dinner by courses and one course, or plate, is served after another. Each person has his own choice or portion of his foods served separately. However, the eastern culture, or the Chinese culture, has the foods served very much at the same time and they are not served separately to each individually. Therefore, in a Chinese meal, the foods are shared among the people at the table. It is considered bad manner for a person to use his chopsticks turning foods in a plate upside down to pick what he likes.
As for the similarities, both cultures would consider impolite for a person to put his elbows on the table or to talk with foods in his mouth.
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