Do you kiss people hello on the cheek?

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

If so, is it a sole peck or do you go all out French and kiss four times, on alternate cheeks?

 

[Meriweather]

no

 

[fla4fun]

No, it isn’t customary here for most people. You might greet very close friends or immediate family with a quick embrace, but a kiss is rarely part of it (unless it’s your Granny, then a quick kiss on one cheek is acceptable).

 

[_19disnA]

I think there was a recent thread about this. Perhaps in other countries the social practices are different, but in the USA it is NOT customary to kiss someone as a greeting, a handshake is much more common. In a business setting, it would generally be considered inappropriate to kiss co-workers.

For certain types of social gatherings such as a wedding or funeral, you might choose to hug someone but that still depends on how closely associated you are.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I do with my relatives that live in the Netherlands as it's normal to do that there but never with people in the US.

 

[TippyThomas]

No.

 

[MamaMermaid]

No.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Not that I can recall, but when I see my sister I always give her a kiss on the cheek when we say goodbye and tell her I love her.

 

[disneychrista]

No but I have a guy friend that we kiss (on the lips) goodbye when we see each other.

 

[Ronaldo17]

Not in the UK,

 

[NYCgrrl]

I kiss and hug family.
I kiss and hug friends.
How many kisses depends on where the cheeks originate from.

 

[tvguy]

No. Seems even hugs are off limits these days. Certainly sat through enough sexual harassment seminars that warned that any kind of touching can be considered unwelcome .
It is kind of sad the way things are now. When my mom died, a woman I had known for 40 years felt the need to ASK if she could give me a hug. And we even dated for a short time.

 

[willowsnn3]

Only my 2 year old great grandson.

 

[SirDuff]

It's three kisses here.

 

[ronandannette]

Yuck, no. I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from physically recoiling if an acquaintance tried to do this to me. Europeans - please tell me if there’s a graceful way to avoid it where you live?

 

[disykat]

Not only can I not imagine greeting people with a kiss, I try really hard not to shake hands. I have pain issues with my hands and have always hated shaking hands. No, I'm not afraid of your germs (though I think that's a good reason too) I just don't want you squeezing my hands!

 

[soccerdad72]

A few family members (one peck on the cheek), but that's about it.

 

[mom2rtk]

No.

 

[VandVsmama]

If so, is it a sole peck or do you go all out French and kiss four times, on alternate cheeks?

no. I live in the US and it's not a common practice where I live.

 

[amcnj]

The cheek kissing (both one side or two depending on who it was) was fairly common when I was younger. With the younger generations it seems that hugs are the more common greeting now.