From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A French kiss (or tongue kiss) is a romantic or sexual kiss in which one participant's tongue touches the other's lips or tongue and may enter his or her mouth.

While family members may sometimes kiss on the lips, a tongue kiss almost always indicates a romantic or sexual relationship. French kissing stimulates the lips, tongue and mouth, which are all areas very sensitive to touch. It is considered by many to be both very pleasurable and highly intimate.

In a tongue kiss participants may exchange saliva, which would often be considered disgusting in other contexts, but which may add to the passion and excitement of the sexual kiss. Although most sexually-transmitted diseases are not transmitted by kissing, the exchange of saliva in a French kiss may increase the chances of catching an orally transmitted disease.

Although popular in the west, it's catching up fast in the east. French kiss is commonly used in movies to show willing sex between lovers. It is often used by lovers to express their intimate feeling toward each other and more often precedes sex.

French kissing is sometimes referred to in literature as a soul kiss or a columbine kiss (columbine meaning like doves). It is known colloquially as tongue wrestling, tonsil hockey and, in the United Kingdom, snogging.

Unlike other English terms using the adjective "French", the expression has been borrowed into colloquial French as the verb frencher. The term has been attributed to the French's more open views on cunnilingus and oral sex in general (see soixante-neuf/sixty-nine), as the two acts are similar.

Maraichinage

A possible predecessor of the term tongue kiss is the Maraichinage, popularised by the residents of Pays de Mont in Brittany: the Maraichins. A maraichinage often lasted for several hours, and involved a profound exploration of the mouth of one's partner.

French Kiss is a 1995 movie starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline.

Deep Kiss is a series of Japanese pornographic lesbian movies, dedicated entirely to French kissing.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Cheek kissing is a ritual or social gesture to indicate friendship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, or to show respect. It doesn't necessarily indicate sexual or romantic interest. Cheek kissing is more common in Europe than North America (except for Quebec), especially the southern parts of Europe. Cheek kissing is appropriate between a man and a woman, a parent and a child, two women and two men. The latter is socially accepted in Russia and the Middle East but brings up associations with homosexuality in Western Europe and the US.

In a cheek kiss, both persons lean forward and either lightly touch cheek with cheek or lip with cheek. Generally the gesture is repeated with the other cheek, or more, alternating cheeks. Depending on country and situation the number of kisses is usually one, two or three. Hand-shaking or hugging may also take place.

Cheek-kissing is used in many cultures with slightly varying meaning and gesture. For example, cheek-kissing may or may not be associated with a hug. Do not be surprised if somebody kisses your cheek in the countries and cultures mentioned below, but do not try to imitate unless you are intimate with the culture (and the people around you). The appropriate social context for use can vary greatly from one country to the other, though the gesture might look familiar.

United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom

Almost all cheek kissing here is a single kiss to one cheek. Double cheek kissing is relatively rare and sometimes changes the meaning of the kiss entirely.

Cheek kissing is most commonly done between a man and woman who know each other well and are either related or are fairly good friends. In this case, a short hug is very commonly an accompanying move, though the hug only allows the upper bodies to touch.

Also common is cheek kissing between two women who know each other or are related. Likewise, hugs are common but not required.

A variant of this is an air-cheek-kiss. This is only done by two women or possibly as well by gay men. The kiss is done at a distance in a feigning move, with the women standing 1 meter from each other and pretending to kiss, much as 'blowing a kiss' pretends to kiss at a distance. Unlike all other types of kisses, it is often a double cheek kiss. This is a stylized mannerism and was not ever very popular in the general population, and may or may not now be out of style.

Cheek kissing of children by adults of both sexes is common as well. Typically it is also very short (even perfunctory) unless the adult and child are related.

Cheek kissing between grown men is very, very rare. A man attempting to cheek kiss another man would probably be thought to be homosexual unless the move is between close friends at a party and purely for comedic value; even then the move would be discussed for its possible homosexual implications.

Cheek kissing between an adult male child and either his mother and father is quite common and normal, though it is less common than between mother-daughter and brother-sister.

France, Italy, Spain

Also among most other Mediterranean countries of romanic culture. Cheek-kissing and hugging common among friends of both sexes, mixed sex, and between family members. In France male youth will generally avoid cheek-kissing with other males.

Turkey

Cheek-kissing and light hugging is common among men.

Arab World

Cheek kissing is relatively common, between friends, relatives, and lovers. The elderly are also kissed by younger people to show respect.

South America

Common but don't know the details, please extend.

Quebec

People of opposite sex usually kiss once on each cheek; sometimes a pair of women will do this also. This customarily occurs between friends or family members who have not seen each other recently.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Hugs and Kisses" is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g. XOXO, typically used by lovers to denote at the end of a written letter or email. X represents a kiss, O a hug.

The use of xoxo goes back to the use of an "X" or cross, which was considered as good as a sworn oath in times before most people could write and therefore used the x in the same way a signature is used today. A mark of your word.

An x at the end of a letter or document was often kissed as a seal of honesty, in much the same way one would kiss a bible or kiss the fingers after making the sign of the cross, thus the x came to represent a kiss in modern times.

The origins of the "O" as a hug are not generally known, although it is speculated that it may represent the arms wrapped around someone being hugged. Another thought is that it came from Jewish immigrants who would sign with an "O" instead of an x because they did not wish to mark their word with the obviously non-Jewish cross the x represented.