Do you need a reason to kiss someone? Or is it just a spur of the moment to let some know that I care about you? Whatever be it, today is the perfect day to let go of all the boundaries and kiss the person who matters to you. It does not mean that you can kiss only your partner, it is a perfect excuse and a great opportunity to show your love to your parents, your children and to everyone whom you love. This day is marked as an awareness to remind people about the pleasure and the subtle intimacy that can emanate from a simple kiss, be it among the friends, family, loved ones to the extent of pets.
The history of kissing dates back to the Romans who practically invented three widespread forms of kissing. The first is savium which denotes the most passionate form of kiss and it is usually exchanged among the partners and couples. Second is the basium which is of lesser degree as compared to savium, it is basically a loving kiss on the lips and it can be exchanged among the friends and it is the preferable kiss in the public. The last one is the osculum, which is just a friendly peck on the cheek and it is usually exchanged among everyone, depending on the occasion.
Now there is an interesting trivia about the forms of kissing. We all are aware of the term “French Kiss“. So if somebody asks you about the origin of this term, you might, well absentmindedly, say “it’s from France“. But surprisingly, it is not. The term “French Kiss” originated among the British and the American servicemen in France at the time of WWI, where the Galic women were more interested in a passionate kind of kiss as compared its American and British counterparts. So even though the French were not directly involved in such a type of kiss, but the event of passionate kiss being more prevalent in France gave birth to the name “French Kiss”. And the yet more surprising part is that, French were not even aware of the “mouth-on-mouth” kissing. In fact, the famous term “Galocher” which means “kissing with tongue” was added to the French dictionary, Le Petit Robert, recently in 2014. So what we initially thought that French kiss was started among the French, it in fact started among the Galic women in France.
Now enough about the history of the origin of the International Kiss Day, let’s turn our attention towards some interesting facts and traditions followed worldwide.
- In Vietnam, kissing is prevalent only among the spouses in private. The same is being followed in China and Japan.
- In Netherlands, the norm is to exchange 3 kisses as a form of greeting.
- In France, the customary way of greeting is one air kiss.
- In Italy and France, the prevalent way of greeting is to exchange kiss on the lips among both men and women.
- Modern anthropologists strongly believe that kissing was developed among the Eskimos, who used rub their noses against each other to take each other’s breath and to prevent getting cold. Such a cute form of kissing was known as “Eskimo Kissing“. This method of kissing is also quite prevalent among the Pacific Islanders and it is very surprising, yet a fact, that taking each other’s breath is a measure of compatibility.
International Kissing Day is a way of reminding how times are fleeting and why we should take a moment to appreciate what we have. It is not necessary to be grandeur about it, but how about a sudden subtle kiss on the cheek? Trust me, it will make someone feel valued. Tomorrow is 6th July, 2020. My personal advice would be to wake up in the morning, plant a kiss on your husband, parents and your children. Take some time out of your busy Monday mornings to greet your friends with virtual kisses either via Zoom/Whatsapp/Skype/Google Meet and so on and so forth. There are millions of way how can you show your love and you do not need to a romantic to do so.
All said, let’s take out a moment to send our kisses to our health-workers, doctors and the families who have lost their near ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. It might sound a bit illogical, but then again it’s International Kissing Day and there is a great opportunity to show our love and respect for them too.
Just a peck or may be Hershey’s Kisses will do!
Source:
https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/international-kissing-day-2020/
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