Hand kiss

The hand-kiss is offered by a woman to a man (the man kissing the hand). It is a gesture of extreme politeness where the lady offering it is expected to be of same or higher social status than the gentleman executing it. It is considered impolite to refuse an offered hand-kiss. Hand-kissing has become rare and is mostly restricted to conservative upper class or diplomats. Former French president Jacques Chirac, for example, made it his trademark. Nevertheless, it has largely disappeared as a common greeting habit in Europe, although it can still be observed in Central Europe, especially Poland, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Romania. Central and Eastern Europe also better resist the decline, especially outside intimate circles, of the accolade (a hug) as public greeting between adult men. In Turkey hand-kissing is the common way to greet elder people of both genders. After kissing the hand, the greeter will draw the hand to his own forehead.

In the Roman Catholic Church, a Catholic meeting the Pope or a Cardinal, or even a lower-ranking prelate, will kiss the ring on his hand. This has become uncommon in circles not used to formal protocol, even often dispensed with amongst clergy. However it is still more common in the more demonstrative Mediterranean cultures, especially the Italian baciamano. Sometimes, the devout Catholic combines the hand kissing with kneeling on the left knee as an even stronger expression of filial respect for the clerically high-ranking father. The cleric may then in a fatherly way lay his other hand on the kisser's head or even bless him/her by a manual cross sign. In the Catholic Church, it is also traditional for the laity to kiss the hands of a newly-ordained priest after his inaugural mass, in veneration of the Body of Christ, which is held in the priest's hands during the Holy Eucharist.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate, Macedonian Orthodox Church, and Montenegrin Orthodox Church, it is appropriate and common for laity to greet clergy, whether priests or bishops, by making a profound bow and saying, "Father, bless" (to a priest) or "Master, bless" (to a bishop) while placing their right hand, palm up, in front of their bodies. The priest then blesses them with the sign of the cross and then places his hand in theirs, offering the opportunity to kiss his hand. Orthodox Christians kiss their priest's hands not only to honor their spiritual father confessor, but in veneration of the Body of Christ which the priest handles during the Divine Liturgy as he prepares Holy Communion. The profound bow is frequently omitted. A similar ritual occurs when an Orthodox Christian approaches an icon he wishes to venerate. First the Christian makes a profound bow and makes the sign of the cross twice. Then he approaches the icon more closely, kissing the icon, usually on the representation of Christ's, or the saint's, hand or feet. Lastly, he will make a final profound bow and make the sign of the cross. Orthodox theology teaches that, honor given to the Virgin Mary, ascends to him who was enfleshed by her. This applies to saint's relics or icons and in this case, to the priest's hand. Lastly, it is a common practice when writing a letter to a priest to begin with the words "Father Bless" rather than "Dear Father" and end the letter with the words "Kissing your right hand" rather than "Sincerely."

The hand kissing is used quite prominently in The Godfather series, as a way to indicate the person who is the Don.

The hand kiss is sometimes used as a romantic gesture, usually in parting. It could be used to convey a feeling of a more traditional and emotional attraction, rather than a superficial one that has become a stereotype of the twenty-first century. This could be misconstrued as a parody or mockery of the original gesture, and indeed at times it may be used as such, but this must not be seen as the sole intention. For example, it would not be mockery for a man saying goodnight to his girlfriend to kiss her hand, but a person who greatly exaggerated the practice would be clearly seen as mocking it.

History

The gesture was common in European upper class throughout the 18th and 19th century. It started to disappear in the 20th century. It is very uncommon today in Northern European countries. In its modern form, a man kissing the hand of a woman, the hand-kiss originated in the Spanish court ceremonies of the 17th/18th century. The gesture probably originated as a formal submission or plead of allegiance of man to man. The man would show his submission by kissing the signet ring (a form of seal worn as a jewelry ring), the symbol of authority of the dominant person.