Lei (garland) dancer who dared to give a lei to a US soldier along with a kiss, leading it to become a tradition of lei distribution in modern times. To this day, leis remain a notable aspect of Hawaiian culture. Traditionalists give a lei by bowing slightly and raising it above the heart, allowing the recipient to take it, as raising the hands above another's head, or touching the face or head, is considered disrespectful. By tradition, only open lei are given to a pregnant or nursing woman. If due to allergies or other reasons a person cannot wear a lei which
Lei tai " (Traditional: 打擂臺 Simplified: 打擂台 - "Fight Beat (a drum) Platform"). The character for "Dǎ" combines the word for “robust or vigorous” (dīng 丁) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手). This can mean, "to strike, hit, beat, or fight". In Cantonese, using the Wade-Giles superscript number system, Lei tai is pronounced Leui Toi. A common English rendering of this is "Lui Toi or Loey Toy". Da lei tai is pronounced Da leui toi or Da leui toi. It is important to note the Chinese military once used a "Zhong Jun Lei Gu Tai" (中军擂鼓台 – “Central Military Drum Beating