International Kissing Day 2021: History, Significance, Intersting Facts and Historic Kisses

International Kissing Day 2021: History

Celebrated on 6 July worldwide, International Kissing Day or World Kiss Day is to remind people around the world about the simple pleasures of kissing your loved ones. Not linked to any other act or even any relationship. It is kissing the one you love for the pure joy of this affectionate act. International Kiss Day urges people to take the time out to kiss their significant others with deliberation and not just as a mechanical action or social formality. More often than not we become complacent in long term relationships, this day, however, serves to reignite the spark of intimacy between two people.

According to Hindustan Times, World Kiss Day is not an official holiday like Valentine’s Day but has been a popular day for people to express their affection since the early 2000s. The practice originated in the United Kingdom but has steadily become a worldwide phenomenon. It is also important to note this holiday is different from the one celebrated on February 13.

The act of kissing and its widespread use can be attributed to the Romans, who used the act at a particular time, or place as an indication of social status. The Romans categorised the act in three forms: the ‘osculum’, which mean a friendly peck on the cheek, the ‘basium’, which was meant to show love by kissing on the lips, and the ‘savium’, which was a more passionate kiss on the mouth that expresses love or desire.

International Kissing Day 2021: Significance

Are you giving your partner a smooch or your loved ones a quick peck on the cheek, right? Sure, they are great ways to participate in International Kissing Day (not that the over-45 need an excuse!), but it’s not the reason behind the event, Keepincalendar reported.

The art of locking lips has values that are easy to miss in a rush to rack up as many kisses as possible. A kiss isn’t only romantic – it’s a sign of affection that reminds people that you care. 40% of people say that their television screen is their main companion, so a kiss is more necessary than ever.

Also, let’s not forget about the health advantages. Mental health is a big deal, but so is physical wellbeing. Weirdly and wonderfully, kissing can burn up to 6.4 calories per minute. It certainly beats peacocking at the gym!

Last but not least, it transcends cultural norms. Everybody loves a kiss, regardless of the country or customs. Who knows? You may meet a friend for life on international Kissing Day.

International Kissing Day 2021: Interesting facts

Here’s a few interesting facts on how other cultures see the kiss, as reported by Awarenessdays and Bustle:

-In Italy and Greece friends, both men and women commonly kiss each other on the lips when greeting each other, whereas in France one air kiss on each cheek is a customary greeting.

-Modern Anthropologists believe that kissing developed from “Eskimo kissing” , which is actually the practise of rubbing noses to take in each others breath. This is also practised amongst many Pacific Islanders as a greeting, which has led to the theory that kissing is actually a testing of another persons scent to measure compatibility!

-In Vietnam kissing between spouses is only done in private, with China and Japan adopting a similar attitude towards this. While people from the Netherlands actually opt for 3 kisses as a form of greeting.

Photo: India.com.

-Almost half of people would rather kiss their pet than a family: While 19 percent of those surveyed would rather kiss their pet over their partner, 43 percent said that when it comes to kissing their friends or a family member, their pet wins every time.

-Dogs are the most kissable pet: Not only do 75 percent of people kiss their pets, but 70 percent say that dogs are the pets to kiss. Way far behind, with almost a 50-point difference, are cats at 21 percent. Also on the list of pets people want to kiss are birds at seven percent and reptiles at two percent… because kissing a boa constrictor just warms the heart.

-Kissing requires the coordination of over 100 muscles: According to a team of British researchers, every French kiss involves a complex movement of 146 muscles, 34 of which are facial and 112 of which are postural. This could actually make one deduce that those who are bad at kissing, are some how not working all those muscles, at least not correctly.

-More men than women are into the ‘Hello’ kiss: Although we don’t embrace the hello kiss quite like other cultures, Skout found that 61 percent of Americans said they were cool with a “quick” kiss hello when meeting up with a friend. But when it was broken up by the genders, it was men, at 64 percent, who were even bigger fans of the hello kiss than the ladies. Although still in the majority, only 56 percent of women preferred to kiss hello.

– Majority of people tilt their head to the right to kiss: According to a German psychologist, two-thirds of people tilt their heads to the right when they kiss. The researchers say the reason for this is that both in the womb and as babies, most of just naturally tilt our heads to the right, and it’s something that follows us our whole life.

– Women think kissing is more important than men do: A study of over 1,000 college students found that women place more importance on kissing than men do. For women, kissing is a way to gauge the relationship while guys mostly kiss as a means to have sex.

– Throughout history kissing has been periodically banned: On March 9, 1562, Naples, Italy banned kissing in public, making it punishable by death, due to a plague that was rapidly spreading through Europe. Then in 1910, France, of all countries, banned kissing on French train platforms because it was causing delays.

– Men who kiss their wives every morning live longer: According to a study by the University College London done in the 1980s, men who kiss their wives every morning live five years longer than those who do not. The reason being that kissing is good for the heart and lowers stress.

– Kissing affects our eyes: Although kissing affects most of our body, releasing dopamine and other hormones into our system, it also causes the pupils of our eyes to dilate. So, yes, this is why most people close their eyes when they kiss.

Photo: bigstockphoto.com/Rob Hainer.

International Kissing Day 2021: 6 Most Historic Kisses

Here are 6 most historic kisses in the world listed by Oddnaari and Medium:

Parisian Love

Taken amidst the busy cobbled streets of Paris, it rightfully captures the essence of the city of love. A couple kissing in the busy streets was captured in 1950 by a French photographer. The fact that this photo was staged didn’t come between the popularity of the picture as more than 500,000 posters and 400,000 postcards have been reprinted from the original.

Photo: oddnaari

The royal kiss

The royal marriage between Prince Charles and Lady Diana took place in 1981. The ceremony was rather awkward as Diana refused to say the word ‘obey’ and Prince Charles forgot to kiss the bride after the vows. When the couple returned to Buckingham Palace and emerged on the balcony in front of everyone, they kissed. This was rather unexpected as the kiss was always considered to be an intimate and private moment that didn’t use to take place in the royal marriages even at the altar.

Photo: oddnaari

Soldiers’ kisses

Soldiers Departing For Egypt Lean Out Of Their Windows To Kiss Their Loved Ones Goodbye, 1935.

Photo: desinema.com

The V-J Day Kiss of 1945

Alfred Eisenstaedt, an American photographer and photojournalist, captured the most iconic kiss of all time. The photograph portrays an American sailor kissing a young nurse on Victory Day ( the day which marked the end of World War II, and America’s victory over Japan). The photographer, who was present at the Times Square, when the news broke, saw people rejoicing and kissing. His attention was caught by a sailor would literally grab anyone and kiss. “Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn’t make any difference” he said.

Photo Credits: Rare Historical Photos

Homecoming

This picture shows actress Marlene Dietrich passionately kissing a GI as he arrives home from World War II. It was first published in Life Magazine with the caption: “While soldiers hold her up by her famous legs, Marlene Dietrich is kissed by a home-coming GI”. This was shot by Irving Haberman.

Photo: oddnaari

Jean Moore kneels and kisses her fiancé

Jean Moore kneels and kisses her fiancé, wheelchair-bound World War II veteran Ralph Neppel, who wears a Congressional Medal of Honor given to him by President Harry Truman, at the White House, Washington DC, September 10, 1945.

Photo: decinema.com