[Coastal Kayaker]

What's the origin of removing shoes before entering a home or a holy place? I know it's still observed in Southeast Asia, where some families use the floor for dining as they sit around a carpet on the floor on which plates of food are placed.

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Name : Coastal Kayaker, City : St. Marys, State : GA Country : United States, 

[Rebekah]

It's not just in Southeast Asia. I was born and raised in Canada, and not only my family, but about 90 percent of the other homes I visited were shoes-off, or at least visitors would offer to remove them upon entering. I always thought the shoes-on thing was only something Americans did when I was younger, but now that I live in Australia, where most people seem to wear their shoes in the house, I see that I was incorrect. I am constantly trying to get visitors to remove their shoes! I lived in South Korea for three years, where shoes in the house, and at many restaurants, is an absolute taboo. I found no religious reasoning - only what my mother said: for cleanliness. You walk around all day in your shoes, stepping in what amounts to sewage, chemicals, garbage, whatever, and then wear them around the house, where children may play on the floors, where people sometimes sit down - touching it with their hands, where you drop stuff and then pick it up? No thank you!

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Name : Rebekah, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Anne]

I believe Bosnian-American immigrants generally take their shoes off before entering as well.

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Name : Anne, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Iowa City, State : IA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jackie]

I don't like people wearing their shoes in my house because it makes the carpet dirty. Eww! I got to clean that stuff up.....

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Name : Jackie, Gender : F, City : Des Moines, State : IA Country : United States, 

[Kameshia]

It dates back to Biblical days. I believe in the Old Testament, so it stretches farther than the Southeast Asia. It is also observed by members of all nationalities, not just to revere a holy place. For my home, it's because my carpet is lightly colored and I like to lie on the floor and watch TV. Do you know what we step in on a daily basis? Would you want to lie/sit in that if you knew?

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Name : Kameshia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[DanielPfalmer]

We do it in Alaska. It never occurred to me until I was about 12 that some people wore their shoes in the house. Why would you want to track all the dirt and stuff into the house? In the winter here everyone takes their shoes off when the go into a house. If you don't then it gets your floors wet from the snow on your shoes. It gets rather funny at parties when there are 40 pairs of shoes next to the front door. Nobody even thinks twice about taking them off, though. When you get into someone's car in the winter you don't take off your shoes, but it is very rude if you don't tap them on the side of the car to get the snow off before you get in.

User Detail :  

Name : DanielPfalmer, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Fairbanks, State : AK Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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