Lebanese Hospitality
Arabs are known around the world for being friendly, hospitable, and warm. This rule applies to Lebanese culture as well, and the people are noted for being extraordinarily cordial, helpful, and giving. Foreign visitors are cordially welcomed and occasionally even treated to a night out on the town in Beirut. They are treated with respect and given the greatest products and services. In order to show respect, amiability, and honor to the invitees, hospitality sometimes involves providing a large range of food-based entertainment for the visitors. It is better to bring a present than not to bring anything at all while visiting a Lebanese home. It is particularly appreciated when foreign visitors present a traditional handcrafted handicraft. Offering useful gifts like desserts, candies, or even a nice bottle of wine or champagne, if the host is tolerant of alcohol, is also common. However, it is preferable to err on the side of caution to be safe. Giving anything in exchange is not required; rather, it is a polite gesture meant to please the host, forge connections, or improve the relationship.
The comedy of the Lebanese is unmatched. They enjoy making light of every circumstance and seeing the humor in practically everything. Nothing and no subject is off limits to jokes, including politics, religion, economics, business, education, and family dynamics. Recently, when French President Macron visited the nation, the Lebanese were quick to make a funny joke about how after his visit to Lebanon, the French Head of State began addressing his assistant with the local term Bonjour-eyn rather than the formal French term Bonjour, underscoring the influence of the "Lebanese style" on visitors.
