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The Evolution Of The Kiss

Came across this (see below) info on the web, was wondering if India had any such custom in the past. Kiss, I guess does not belong to Indian tradition. if it had been why kiss is not so common like in European countries. Any way just go through the evolution of Kiss below. It has an interesting history.

In the sixth century, society apparently accepted the custom of kissing between adults as an _expression of affection. Not surprisingly the French accepted kissing during courtship, in amour (love in French). In those days figure dancing (dancing in prescribed patterns from a stationary position) was a craze and each dance was sealed with a kiss!

The custom of dancing swept across from France through Europe to Russia, where Russian nobility liked to ape the French!

Eventually the kiss was incorporated in marriage ceremonies. (Today lip kisses lock couples in sweet matrimony at least in the West!)

The custom of kissing was also regarded as a sign of respect by many cultures. For instance the early Romans kissed on the mouth or the eyes in a manner they deemed to be dignified. One roman emperor ranked a persons importance by the body part he was allowed to kiss. Nobles could kiss his lips, less important ones could kiss his hands and the lowest cadre could kiss his feet!

In Russia, the highest sign of recognition from the crown was a kiss from the Tsar himself.

Even today natives of many African tribes pay homage to their chief by kissing the ground on which he has trodden upon!