How traditional is cheek kissing in your part of Europe?

[Routasydän]

We Finns are strictly hand-shakers, although you sometimes see women who know each other well greet with a couple of kisses "almost on the cheek". I'm not sure if they actually kiss the cheek or just smack their lips in the air next to it.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Theobald

Indeed. Strangely when you observe non-francized Arabs they kiss men's cheeks (four times) and shake women's hands.

They really have a problem with women.

By the way, me personaly kiss twice, 3 times is odd, 4 too much and boring.


Do you greet people with a hand/head sign? I sometimes do instead of shaking hand.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Theobald

Indeed. Strangely when you observe non-francized Arabs they kiss men's cheeks (four times) and shake women's hands.

If they shake women't hands they are at least a little westernised.

Among Muslims, it is customary that they salute the man and the woman, who is two steps behind, they ignore her completely.

An Italian was telling me how he met on the street an old friend from the "lead years". This other Italian was a nazi who had [coincidentially?] converted to Islam. When my friend went to greet his wife, the husband stopped him from doing so, arguing that they were Muslim.

Once a nutcase, always a nutcase.

[Ferran]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

It's common here if it's a man and a woman, or two women. Never two men.

Same here. The only time you can see two "men" cheek kissing is when one of them is a kid and they are family, but when the kid reaches puberty cheek kissing is espontaneusly substituted by handshaking.


Regarding coldness of Germanics, I remember that when Louis Van Gaal was the coach of FC Barcelona, on a press conference, a female journalist gave him a present of a sport TV program and then they had the protocolic two cheek kisses, and instantly Van Gaal said "In Holland it's three" and gave her the third. So I wonder... was he being serious or what?

[kyashan]

mouth-kissing is also told to be common among Sicilian mobsters.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by svin

Btw, it's really hard for me to understand that Germaics are not familiar with this tradition. I never thought that Russians are open-hearted people, on the contrary, usually not very emotional. But this is more or less normal here, not obligatory (you don't HAVE to kiss woman you meet).

My experiences with Russians have been positive; they seem to not be as superficial as other nations, Ireland included. The Irish can be very good with light conversation while they keep their private self hidden. The Russians I have met seem to live up to the rule that “still waters run deep”. That does not mean they cannot be fun, but they seem more sincere about what they say.

[Milesian]

Cheek kissing is uncommon here. It is never socially acceptable man/man, not even with close friends or relatives. The other man would almost certainly recoil in horror if you attempted.If he didn't, you would certainly call his sexuality into question.

It can be acceptable between man/woman, but it's still pretty uncommon.
Apart from my girlfriend, I might give female relatives a kiss on the cheek on special occassions such as Christmas or birthdays. Less close females (girlfriend's of my friend's, etc) could get a cheek kiss on Christmas or New Year, but at any other time it would cause bad feeling on the part of her partner towards me.

At New Year in my house, we celebrated with friends.
At the bells, all the men and women exchanged cheek kisses and the men all shook hands with each other.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

I go with Svin here. Shaking hands with a woman is a horrible thing to do. It's better to smile and say hello.

That is the habit in Ireland too. When I visit someone's farm or home the men step forward to shake hands and the women nod their head and say hello from a distance. If the woman extends her hand then you shake it. Kisses on the cheek are only for close relatives traditionally.

[kyashan]

Originally Posted by Milesian

Cheek kissing is uncommon here. It is never socially acceptable man/man, not even with close friends or relatives. The other man would almost certainly recoil in horror if you attempted.If he didn't, you would certainly call his sexuality into question.

It can be acceptable between man/woman, but it's still pretty uncommon.
Apart from my girlfriend, I might give female relatives a kiss on the cheek on special occassions such as Christmas or birthdays. Less close females (girlfriend's of my friend's, etc) could get a cheek kiss on Christmas or New Year, but at any other time it would cause bad feeling on the part of her partner towards me.

At New Year in my house, we celebrated with friends.
At the bells, all the men and women exchanged cheek kisses and the men all shook hands with each other.

I thought Irish men started a fight to celebrate New Year, Christmas and suchlike.

[Milesian]

Them's fighting words!

[Menydh]

One thing that made me feel terribly uncomfourtable was when my ex-wife's mother and aunt greeted me with a one kiss in the mouth. I had to apologize that I was not used to that familiarity and I suggested the cheek kissing instead.

They were Dutch Afrikaners, by the way.

[Marcus Marulus]

Not very traditional...

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Carnyx

By the way, me personaly kiss twice, 3 times is odd, 4 too much and boring.

Come one.. we all know how French kiss!

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Come one.. we all know how French kiss!

In fact, I've always been wondering... Is it only a French thing? You must know...

I couldn't live in any of those countries where one shakes the hands of girls who have ice cubes instead of a heart. Scary.

[Milesian]

Originally Posted by Carnyx

I couldn't live in any of those countries where one shakes the hands of girls who have ice cubes instead of a heart. Scary.

Yep, it's tough being a pervert, eh?