A kiss is an act of pressing or touching one’s lips to another object or another individual. In its broadest sense, kissing can refer to any form of soft, prolonged contact between the lips and teeth. Cultural definitions of kissing differ widely in how they define kissing. In North America, however, a kiss is typically defined as a quick peck or “sniff” of someone else’s mouth, usually towards the rear of the mouth or near the nape.
In Western culture, the act of kissing is associated with romantic, affectionate and sexual activity. The custom to kiss dates back to ancient Rome when Roman and Greek athletes would run laps together to warm up their muscles and lubricate their hair before competing in athletic events. During this time, however, the kiss was used more for affection than for sportsmanship. In fact, during the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, runners often ran to a waiting woman by pulling her hair.
In ancient times, kissing was seen as a sign of affection toward family members. If you kissed your brother or sister, it meant that they cared and loved you. While this was the case in some families, other families where there was no official relationship, family kissing generally occurred at social events such as parties or gatherings. It was a way to warm each other up, and many people enjoyed the comfort of being able to communicate without talking directly to each other.
During the Middle Ages, kissing developed into something more than just an affectionate gesture. Some people took it upon themselves to document all of the different types of kiss actions that occurred throughout Europe and the world. These accounts were documented and allowed people to laugh at the awkwardness of others when trying to use these same movements to convey romantic messages. Some accounts even referred to certain individuals who used the “wrong” hand to do the kiss on other people’s lips.
A variation of the “correct” kiss involves using your index or middle finger to push the kiss away from the other person’s mouth. This was commonly used during the Victorian era, but fell out of favor during the post-World War II era when people became less interested in collecting antique items. Today, however, a lot of people still use this old fad to open up communication with another person. Just make sure to push the kiss away instead of giving it. You wouldn’t want to give him the idea that you were trying to seduce him in hopes of getting him to kiss you, would you?
A lot of people also view this activity as sexual stimulation. In order to determine the actual purpose of your kisses, it is best to look back through history and figure out when exactly kissing started off. The first kiss may have started off as a sign of affection, but it could easily have evolved into something else if it was used for sexual stimulation instead. In fact, some people believe that in some instances, the act of kissing itself is a form of sexual stimulation for one person!
