Visiting Relatives

Visiting relatives is a very common practice for almost all nationalities throughout the world. People will be visiting relatives especially during special events all year round and similarly in Tibet. In Tibet, the visitors will normally bring a basket filled with gifts on his/her back when visiting relatives. Covered with a piece of cloth, the gifts within the basket cannot be seen by other people.
When a guest arrives, the host and hostess will firstly greet them and serve with tea and barley bear. After spending two or three hours of talk, the visitors will request the host to accept the gifts in the basket. The host should not take all the gifts but will leave something like food or eggs in the basket for the guest to take it home. In Tibetan tradition, taking all gifts within the basket of visitor will spoil the good name of a person. In return, the host will place something in the basket. The host will remember the items that received from the visitors and gifts of similar value should be taken on the return visit in near future.