Chopstick taboo

I remember showing off my newfound skill with chopsticks by offering a titbit to my Japanese wife across the table. I expected her to take it with her chopsticks. Instead she looked at me with horror.

It is taboo in Japan to pass food from chopstick to chopstick. This is only done at funerals where the bones of the deceased are picked out of the ashes by the relatives using special chopsticks.

The bones are put in the funeral urn in order. The feet bones first and the skull bones last to ensure the deceased is the right way up.