Forms Of Greeting In Different Countries

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Thursday, October 28, 2010, 16:27

Greeting is the way of welcoming a person. It is done not only when a guest come to your house but also when you meet or are introduced to someone. In the modern age, with the influence of 'westernisation', greeting is now restricted to hello and hand shake but according to traditional norms, forms of greeting vary in from country to country. Lets look at different forms of greeting in different countries -

1.India – Indians fold their hands to a 'namaste', when they greet. This is a sign of welcoming a person with due respect.

2.Saudi Arabia – In Saudi Arabia, people hug and kiss hands or eye as a form of greeting. This portrays love and affection among people.

3.Canada – Canada has the most unique way of greeting. They rub nose with each other on meeting. This is a traditional custom, unfortunately at present is being followed only by the Inuits, who live in Canada.

4.French – The French, kiss on both cheeks to greet people. It is taken as an offense, is someone does not follow it.

5.Spain – Spain too follow the trend of kissing cheeks when meeting a person. This, however, is not followed on formal occasions.

6.Tibet – Tibet has the most interesting way of greeting. They stick out their tongue at each other. This is their way of telling that they hold no evil thoughts.

7.Japan – A bow is a form of greeting in Japan. This is their way of expressing respect to the other person. The extent of a bow describes how close or how much respect they hold for the person. A bow may vary from a nod to bending down.

All the forms of greeting, no matter how interesting or different they are, give the same message. That is of, love and respect to maintain good will in the society. Greeting, is an expression which in it's own way, pleases a person and makes a marked difference when it is absent.