Kissing traditions
In Slovenia, Serbia, Ethiopia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Poland and Lebanon, it is customary to "kiss three times, on alternate cheeks".
[3][better source needed] French culture expects kisses on the cheek in greeting, though the customs differ.
[6] The kissing post, supporting Ellis Island's registry room, is a famous column at which millions of US immigrants reunited with family.
[7] Not only did immigrants endure the long passage to the United States but upon arriving they underwent a lengthy inspection process.
[7] This emotional process included physical exams, medical detentions, Board hearings for unaccompanied women and children and separation from family members.
[9] This led to the belief that anyone who kissed the stone would receive McCarthy's skill or the "gift of the gab", as locals call it.
[10] Many have traveled to become more eloquent including Sir Walter Scott, world leaders, American presidents, and international entertainers.
: The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush.
The gods eventually brought Baldr back to life, and Frigg declared that mistletoe would bring love rather than death into the world.
[17] When celebrating at a Scottish Hogmanay party, it is custom to try to give a kiss to everyone in the room after the stroke of midnight "the bells".
[18][19] It is a Western custom for a newly married couple to exchange a kiss at the conclusion of their wedding ceremony.
Some Christians hold the belief that the kiss symbolizes the exchange of souls between the bride and the groom, fulfilling the scripture that "the two shall become one flesh".
[citation needed] Although the kiss is not a formal requirement of the ceremony, most regard the gesture as a joyful start of the marriage.
An ancient Christian tradition explains that the clinking sound scares the devil away and the couple kisses in his absence.
The kissing of icons, painted images of Jesus and the saints, is the primary form of veneration in Orthodox Christianity.
Veneration of the holy images is an ancient custom dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries, and is still practiced today in Orthodox Christian worship.
By performing the actions of the lowliest servant, Jesus demonstrated what kind of servant-based leadership was expected from his disciples.
[citation needed] Each newly elected Pope is given a gold ring with his name in raised lettering and the image of St. Peter in a fishing boat.
The title Pope (Latin: papa; from Greek: πάππας pappas, a child's word for father) is an informal name for the bishop of Rome, the first of whom was believed to be the apostle Peter, who was known as one of the "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17).
Today, Roman Catholics pay respect to the reigning Pope by kneeling before him and kissing his ring.
