The influence of culture, religion and traditional knowledge on food and festival taboos: difference between Chinese and western cultures

With the deepening of reform and opening up, the world is increasingly electronic and the process of economic and social integration is underway. The cooperation and exchanges between China and the West in terms of trade, culture, and other areas are becoming more frequent. Actively understanding the differences in customs and taboos between China and the West can help people better appreciate and embrace cultural exchanges. Furthermore, studying the food taboos, festive taboos, and their reasons in the context of Sino-Western cultural exchanges can also promote the concept of a shared human destiny, deepen mutual respect and understanding, and subsequently advance China-West trade and cultural exchanges, contributing to global harmonious development.This study conducted a multicultural comparison and analysis of the reasons after researching the taboos in relevant cultural literature from both Eastern and Western perspectives. The final conclusion of the study is that, in terms of dietary taboos, the West focuses more on the choice of ingredients itself, while in China, dietary taboos are more related to etiquette in dining and have a sense of continuity. However, in terms of festivals and religion, Western countries mostly advocate that the rituals and definitions of major festivals revolve around cleansing 'sins' and emphasize 'sin culture', whereas in China, there is a predominant belief in living in harmony with nature, with a greater emphasis on stability and tranquility.