Hakka superstition holds that you should never praise newborn babies (or even young toddlers) as evil spirits will grow jealous and try to harm them.

It is considered impolite in Hakka culture to use only one hand in the giving or receiving of paper (such as money or business cards.)

 

When meeting a Hakka Chinese for the first time, don’t be surprised if you are asked such personal questions as “How old are you?”, “Why aren’t you married?“, “Why don’t you have any children?”, “How much money do you make?” This is not only acceptable in the Hakka culture, but is viewed as a polite attempt to be friendly.

 

Curling your index finger is the symbol for death.

 

Strings of very loud firecrackers are set off during most festivals or special events (such as weddings, funerals, or grand openings) in order to scare away any evil spirits.

 

It is in bad taste to stick your chopsticks down into your rice bowl and leave them there as this resembles a pair of incense sticks thrust down in the temple incense pot.

 

The number four is considered unlucky because it sounds very similar to the word for death. Can you guess which floor is not even listed in most hospital elevators?

 

In a Hakka wedding, the traditional color for the bride is red, not white. (White is the color of death, while red is the color of celebration or joy.)

 

A traditional Hakka birthday breakfast consists of eggs (representing life) and long noodles (representing long life.)

 

Hakkas typically fear dying outside of their own homes. After all (they reason) how can their spirit be expected to find its way back to where it can be cared for? That’s why you’ll find very sick people checked out of the hospital and moved home before they die.

 

The traditional Hakka greeting out on the streets is “Sut bau mang?” … “Have you eaten yet?”

If you ask a Hakka how old they are, you’re likely to get an answer that’s one or two years older than our western calculations. Here’s how it works – Hakkas count themselves to be one year old when born and then add another year on the Chinese Lunar New Year. According to this customary view, a baby born one week before the Lunar New Year would already be two years old after that New Year rolls around.