In Chinese culture there are three central colors: red, black and white.

Red...eing the color of blood, symbolises the positive aspects of life such as happiness, wealth, fame etc. Red is always associated with good luck. Which is also the color of the envelopes used when giving money as a gift. Also, it is more appropriate to sign something or write a letter, in red ink.

Black...eing the color of feces is associated with dirt, sin, evil, disasters, sadness, cruelty and suffering among other negative things. Black signifies bad fortune and must not be worn during festivals, wedding celebrations etc. or used in home decoration or even when signing a document or writing a letter. Black symbolises a lack of civilization and backwardness. However, traditions associated with this color are quickly fading, and among the younger generations black can be frequently seen as a clothing color.

White...symbolises the mother's milk and is intermediate between red and black, balancing the two colors. It signifies moderation, purity, honesty and life, but is also used at funerals as it is believed it can harmonize all elements. It can be used in all rituals and ceremonies as it is essentially neutral.

Other colors are classified according to their relative darkness and lightness and associated significance thereof.

Western Color Customs

For comparison purposes we will discuss briefly American tradition for Red, Black and White colors.

Red...typically, a woman in a nice fitting red dress (rather than green, or blue, or white), puts a man off in an imaginary tailspin, as red used to be worn by floozies and women-of- the-night, and so is thought to be slightly tabooÕ and very sexy. So, a woman who wears a red dress typically is aware of this and feels very confident about herself and wants to be noticed. And to this end, red is not appropriate to wear at weddings, funerals, church worship, and even in the workplace.

If you are a company in America and you are said to be "in the red"...this is not good...as this signifies your company is in debt, and loosing money!

It is not appropriate to sign documents or write letters in red ink.

During the Thanksgiving/Christmas and New Year holidays red is a very festive color and many holiday decorations will have red in them. And red clothing at this time is popular.

Here's a real old one..A red ribbon should be placed on a child who has been sick to keep the illness from returning. Black...is the color worn by mourners at funerals.

In corporate America, if a company is making money it is 'in the black'. Also if a company is referred to as 'back in black', this means it's no longer loosing money and now making money!

Black...is the preferred color ink to use in writing and signing documents, as is blue ink.

White...is worn at weddings, but only by the bride to symbolize her innocence and virtuous qualities, and no-one is to 'outshine' the bride. Most of the guests attending a wedding will wear non-bold colors, and black is even acceptable.

Chinese numbers Game
Numbers play a role second only to food in Chinese custom and culture. It is believed that numbers can determine a person's fate- for example in the naming of a child.

Certain numbers are considered lucky, and others unlucky.

1- signifies loneliness.

4- is a very unlucky number because when pronounced in Chinese language "si" it sounds like the word for death. Thus Chinese adhering to the customs try to avoid the number 4 in, for example, car number plates, house addresses, phone numbers, etc. Also, when giving money or bonuses, best to avoid Ò4Ó in the figure, example: 400, or 4000, etc.

7- Can also signify death, and same rule when giving money as a gift, avoid this denomination.

8- is the luckiest number in Chinese culture, as the Chinese for eight sounds like the word for lucky. And when giving money or bonuses, something with number Ò8Ó is considered very good. Ex: 800, 888, 8,000, etc.

American numbers Game

In America, numbers typically do not play as important role as in China. But here are a few examples of what traditions we do still have about some numbers.

4- is perhaps considered lucky because of the 4 gospels by Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.

7- the lucky number in American society, however, not as significant as the lucky number in China when giving money, bonuses, etc.

13- the unluckiest number in America, and this is taken quite seriously, across the board. Here are some of the reasons why.

¡ñ The number 13 was thought unlucky by Christians because that was the number of people at the last supper when Christ was betrayed, and the 13th guest "Judas" was the betraying one. Thus, if you have a dinner party with 13 guests, one will die, or you must invite one more, not one less.

¡ñ Also, the concept of 13 being unlucky is thought to be originated from 1st testament pre-Moses time "...If you take a look at the Code of Hammurabi, available in electronic form in many places on the web, you will notice that the laws are numbered - but law 12 is followed by law 14 (just like the floors on many buildings today). Notes in several translations point out that 13 was considered very unlucky in ancient Babylon"É"

¡ñ In America, it would be extremely rare to find a building, of any kind, with a 13th floor. The floors would go from 12, to 14.

¡ñ A very old and silly American tradition; In the founding of the country, there was little medicine and doctors, so a lot of things were deadly. And in the average two-story home in Colonial times, there were 13 steps (shorter leg-length made for shorter steps). If one was to fall from the 7th step, they'd be fumbled, but okay. If one fell from the 13th step, chances are they'd die, not just from the fall, but lack of treatment.

¡ñ Beware of Friday the 13th. It is said that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday, and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that twelve witches plus one devil are present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination.

666 - is also not a well-liked number combo, because as written in the bible, this is the number the "beast"Õ (aka devil/satan) assigns to all mankind so "that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name".Ó.