In Nantes it's four kisses, in Provence three, in Brittany one
Even within France, a hello on the cheek is a regional dialect. Two kisses is the national norm, but Provence adds a third, Nantes goes to four, and the far west of Brittany settles for one. Every known human culture greets, yet almost none do it the same way.
A greeting is a deliberate signal that you have noticed someone, paired with a hint about the relationship between you, warm or cool, formal or casual. It can be spoken, physical or both. Written versions in letters and emails are called salutations, and some languages use the same word or gesture for arriving and leaving. Customs shift with status and setting, from elaborate court rituals for approaching a monarch to secret handshakes that let members of hidden societies recognise one another.
Cheek kissing shows how local the rules are. Russians, Poles, Serbians, Dutch, Iranians and Egyptians traditionally kiss three times on alternating cheeks. Italians, Spaniards, Hungarians and Romanians usually stop at two, while Mexicans and Belgians need only one. Women in the Galapagos kiss the right cheek only, and in Oman men sometimes touch noses after shaking hands.
Hats once did a great deal of social work. From the Middle Ages until men largely stopped wearing them in the mid-20th century, men would touch, lift or remove their hats to people they knew. The gesture began as deference offered by the lower-ranking person, but lost that edge over time; Louis XIV of France made a habit of at least touching his hat to every woman he met. Women never used it, since their head coverings involved modesty. A hatless labourer might instead touch the front of his hair, tugging the forelock, a phrase still used for servility.
Early modern European aristocrats greeted women by bowing to kiss the offered right hand, or merely holding it when less intimate. The version with one knee on the floor now survives mainly in marriage proposals. Handshakes carry their own coded variations in grip, vigour and which hand sits on top, and open arms, crossed arms, eye contact and a smile all adjust the message.
Source: Greeting
