Handshake: Difference between revisions
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{{For|the usage in telecommunications|handshaking}} |
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[[Image:Nerva Aureus Concordia.png|250px|right|thumb|Coin of [[Nerva]] picturing handshake]] |
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[[Image:AntiochusICommagene.JPG|thumb|200px|Antiochus I of Commagene, shaking hands with [[Heracles]] 70-38 BC, [[British Museum]].]] |
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This is how the blind greet each other |
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A '''handshake''' is a short [[ritual]] in which two people grasp each other's right or left hand often accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands. While its origins remain obscure, archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that handshaking was practiced as far back as the 2nd century BC.<ref> Sanders, Donald B. - [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1357708 ''Nemrud Daği: The Hierothesion of Antiochus I of Commagene'']</ref> Some researchers have suggested the handshake may have been introduced in the Western World by [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] in service with the British Court during the late 16th century.<ref>Busterson, Philip A. - ''Social Rituals of the British''</ref> The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon.<ref name="hscornell">[http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=1175580000 Cornell.edu - Uncle Ezra, 04/03/2007]</ref><ref name="hsevergreen">[http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/wallpainting/text.htm Evergreen.edu 12/04/2002]</ref><ref name="hscsun">[http://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/nonverb.html csun.edu - 08/28/2002]</ref> |
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The handshake is initiated when the two hands touch, immediately. It is commonly done upon meeting, greeting, [[parting]], offering [[congratulations]], expressing gratitude, or completing an [[agreement]]. In [[sport]]s or other competitive activities, it is also done as a sign of good [[sportsmanship]]. Its purpose is to convey trust, balance, and equality.<ref name="GQ">[http://men.style.com/gq/fashion/styleguy/miscellaneous/261 men.style.com - GQ Style Guy, June 2000]</ref> |
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Unless health issues or local [[custom]]s dictate otherwise a handshake should always be made using bare hands. In some regions especially in Continental Europe attempting to perform a handshake while wearing gloves may be seen as an inappropriate or even derogatory behavior. In traditional American etiquette the requirement to remove a glove depends on the situation - "A gentleman on the street never shakes hands with a lady without first removing his right glove. But at the opera, or at a ball, or if he is usher at a wedding, he keeps his glove on."<ref name="Emily Post">Post, Emily. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1922, ch. 3.</ref> |
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In [[Anglophone]] countries, shaking hands is considered the standard greeting in business situations. In casual non-business situations, men are more likely to shake hands than women. It is considered to be in poor taste to show dominance with too strong a handshake;<ref name="GQ"/> conversely, too weak a handshake (sometimes referred to as a "limp fish" or "dead fish" handshake) is also considered unseemly<ref>[http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-15-2006-86424.asp Handshaking: Do you know what your handshake says about you?]</ref> due to people perceiving it as a sign of weakness. |
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[[List of mayors of Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City, New Jersey Mayor]] [[Joseph Lazarow]] was recognized by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' for a July 1977 publicity stunt, in which the mayor shook more than 11,000 hands in a single day, breaking the record previously held by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who had set the record with 8,513 handshakes at a [[White House]] reception on [[January 1]], [[1907]].<ref>DeAngelis, Martin - [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_three/story/7526015p-7427184c.html "Joseph Lazarow, who led Atlantic City through start of casino era, dies at 84"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', January 4, 2008. Accessed January 4, 2008.</ref> Similarly, on May 26, 2008, Michael Lennon, Paul Gallasch, Kevin Whittaker and Cory Jens broke the Guinness World Record for the world's longest handshake, shaking hands for nine and a half hours.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fimrite|first=Peter|title=Two friends shake hands for 9.5 hours in SF to set a new world record|date=2008-05-27|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/27/BAGM10TUFF.DTL|accessdate=2008-11-30}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Handshake.jpg|thumb|300px|Shaking with the right hand while delivering a certificate with the left.]] |
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==Modern customs== |
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There are various customs surrounding handshakes, both generically and specific to certain cultures: |
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* Generally it is considered inappropriate, if not outright insulting to the initiator side, to reject a handshake without good reason (such as an injured right hand). |
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* [[Scouting|Boy and Girl Scouts]] specifically use a left handshake, as a convention instituted by [[Lord Baden-Powell]]. |
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* Practitioners of [[fencing]] shake with the non-sword hand after a bout. This is due to the sword hand being employed holding the weapon. |
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* [[Secret societies]] and [[fraternities and sororities]] often use [[secret handshake]]s to identify themselves as initiated brothers or sisters to outside members. |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Shake hands OK.jpg|thumb|right| Seen here is an Islamic cleric shaking hands with a Rabbi.]] --> |
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* In American culture, there is a "Soul Brother Handshake," also called a "Power" or "Unity" shake, dating to the 1960s, begun among African-American men, and still widely practiced between men of various races and particularly among teenage boys as a gesture of close friendship. This is usually a three move procedure, beginning with a traditional, palm-to-palm clasp, followed in quick succession by a clasping at the hilt of the thumbs, and finally, by a hooked clasp of only the fingers, in the manner of railroad couplers. Variations include the above, followed by an exchange of facing palm slaps, as in "[[High five|Gimme Five]]," or [[Fist bump|fist bumping]], "ham and cheese slides", tops-to-bottoms, "the face slap", or knuckles-to-knuckles.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
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* In some cultures people shake both hands, but in most cultures people shake the right hand. |
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* It is generally accepted in Western culture that a male handshake should be firm. Weak handshakes are sometimes referred to as 'limp' or 'cold'. |
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* It should be noted that in some Oriental countries (like [[Turkey]] or the [[Arabic]]-speaking Middle East), handshakes aren't as 'strong' as in America and Europe. Consequently a grip which is too firm may be considered as rude. |
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* Among [[Arabic]]-speaking people, handshakes accompanied with the salutation ''[[As-Salamu Alaykum]]'' ''(peace be upon you)'' are an old tradition. |
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* In some religions, such as Islam and Orthodox Judaism (according to some opinions),<ref> See [[Negiah]], section entitled "Shaking hands in Halacha," which discusses the opinion of various [[Halakha|Halachic]] authorities on this issue, and notes a possible distinction, according to some authorities, between initiating a handshake and returning a handshake (i.e. where the other party extends his/her hand first).</ref> the prohibition against physical contact between members of opposite sexes precludes shaking hands. |
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* Generally it is considered an insult to gesture as to accept a handshake but then move the hand away to initiate another activity. |
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==See also== |
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{{commons|Handshake}} |
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{{wiktionary}} |
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* [[Greeting habits]] |
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* [[Holding hands]] |
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* [[Richard C. Weaver|Handshake Man]] |
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* [[Golden handshake]] |
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* [[Handshaking lemma]] |
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* [[Dap greeting]] (a form of handshake among African Americans). |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Greetings]] |
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[[Category:Parting traditions]] |
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[[Category:Gestures]] |
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[[ar:مصافحة]] |
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[[ca:Encaixada]] |
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[[de:Händeschütteln]] |
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[[es:Apretón de manos]] |
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[[eo:Manpremo]] |
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[[fa:دست دادن]] |
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[[fr:Poignée de main]] |
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[[ko:악수]] |
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[[he:לחיצת יד]] |
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[[nl:Hand geven]] |
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[[ja:握手]] |
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[[no:Håndtrykk]] |
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[[nn:Handtrykk]] |
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[[pt:Aperto de mão]] |
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[[ru:Рукопожатие]] |
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[[simple:Handshake]] |
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[[fi:Kättely]] |
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[[sv:Handskakning]] |
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[[zh:握手]] |
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Revision as of 23:59, 4 January 2009
This is how the blind greet each other