In the Middle Eastern culture at the time of Christ, a kiss was not only seen a gesture of love and friendship, but was also a way to pay homage to someone; as when the Prophet Samuel kissed Saul after he anointed him the first king of Israel (1st Samuel 10:1).
Kissing on the lips certainly expresses erotic attraction between lovers (“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” Song of Solomon 1:2), but it need not always carry sexual overtones. Relatives and friends routinely kissed one another on the mouth upon greeting or parting (Genesis 29:13), yet it might also signify forgiveness and reconciliation, as when the Prodigal Son returned home and his father “ran and put his arms around him and kissed him” (St. Luke 15:20).
Kissing the hands or feet of a spiritual leader or teacher was seen as a sign of respect or reverence, while Judas’ kiss proved to be a tool of deception and betrayal (St. Mark 14:45). Still, the early Christians maintained this gesture to signify the familial atmosphere and love which filled their communities. It was even incorporated into our liturgical worship as the “Kiss of Peace,” exchanged amongst the clergy just prior to the recitation of the Creed.
Years of Christian practice ultimately helped weave this special kiss into the very fiber of Middle Eastern, Greek, and Eastern European cultures. To this day the custom among the Middle East and Greek world is to greet one another with a kiss on each cheek, while the Slavs kiss each other three times.
In our culture, however, since Americans tend to be less demonstrative with regards to outward signs of emotion and affection, this action is often reduced to or reserved for the festal seasons of Pascha and Christmas when we greet each other with “Christ is Risen!” and “Christ is Born!”
