Applause

Varieties of applause typically serve as the means to show appreciation as an audience participant and fulfills the need to be included.

The variety of its forms is limited only by the capacity for devising means of making a noise[1] (e.g., stomping of feet or rapping of fists or hands on a table).

The ancient Romans had set rituals at public performances to express degrees of approval: snapping the finger and thumb, clapping with the flat or hollow palm, and waving the flap of the toga.

The claque consisted of people participating in a variety of roles: some would memorize the show to emphasize key scenes or moments, so-called "laughers" may feign laughter so as to incite the audience to laugh along, "criers" would fake tears, and some were there just to keep the mood up.

Eusebius[5] says that Paul of Samosata encouraged the congregation to indicate approval of his preaching by waving linen cloths (οθοναις), and in the 4th and 5th centuries applause of the rhetoric of popular preachers had become an established custom.

Partly due to the influence of the quasi-religious atmosphere of the performances of Richard Wagner's operas at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the reverential spirit that inspired this soon extended back to the theatre and the concert hall.

Extended applause at the conclusion of an event, usually but not always resulting in a standing ovation, implies approval above and beyond ordinary measure, and compels the performer to return in acknowledgement and at times proceed to an encore.

For example, court theaters in Berlin prohibit applause during the performance and before the curtain call (although elsewhere in Germany, this is felt to be beyond public tastes).

This rule may be relaxed to permit applause in honor of the newly married couple when they may turn to be greeted by the congregation following the exchange of vows.

In less traditional congregations, particularly in contemporary, evangelical megachurches, a more casual atmosphere exists and applause may be encountered as frequently as at any secular performance.

[8] In various countries, airplane passengers often tend to applaud the landing upon completion of a flight and when they have felt the plane's wheels touch down and have run a short but satisfactory course down the runway.

Wind section members will generally lightly stamp their feet or pat one hand on their leg to show approval to a conductor or soloist, while percussionists often rap drumsticks together.

In skateboarding culture, when a fellow skater performs and lands a maneuver exceptionally well the observers will bang their own boards against the ground to express approval or encouragement.

In Jamaica people may bang lids and pot covers together during celebratory events such as a victory at the Olympic Games or the Miss World competitions.