If you're not familiar with the Persian practice of Taarof, it's basically courtly etiquette: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taarof
It's this huge catalog of formality trees that are constantly evolving. I've always assumed it's an artifact of Iran's millennia of monarchy.
Wikipedia says it "promotes equality in a hierarchical culture". But really, if you're like me and you're only trained 2 replies deep, you're going to get taarof mogged every time.
You'll be walking out of people's houses with their food and furnishings bc you can't say no.