Kiss of Love

I was thinking this morning.....about kissing. Please don't judge me without first hearing me out. The thought did not just occur to me because I am carnal. Far from it. It did because yesterday, 6th July was World Kissing Day, which I can bet most of you were not aware of. Why on earth should we have World Kissing Day? Don't ask me, I had asked the same question as well. National Kissing Day, also known as World Kiss Day and International Kissing Day, is a nonofficial holiday that is celebrated on July 6th every year. It is a holiday in which people are encouraged to pucker up and kiss the person they love. Wonders will never end.

World Kissing Day reminded me of a reflection I had recently about kissing. I have been attending wedding ceremonies for a long time but have in recent years been privileged to be offered front row seats by virtue of my position as a Pastor and at family events, as 'big bros.' This particular reflection was at the wedding, a couple of months back, of my cousin who happen to share the same first name with me. After the joining at the Warri South LGA registry, the groom was asked to kiss his bride. As he gently planted a kiss on the lips of his wife, I wondered where the 'You-may-kiss-your-bride' tradition came from and why it is practiced by the religious and non-religious. Why do we have to kiss our brides? Why don't they ask the groom to hug his bride or shake the hand of his bride or even carry her? 

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 person's scent to measure compatibility! Interesting, right? I was in Paris some weeks back and was actually fascinated by their culture of air-kissing on each other's cheek as a customary greeting. As I sat in this crowded restaurant for breakfast, I observed how many customers coming in air-kissed each other. Looked odd to me, but thank God, it's unlike Italy and Greece, where friends, both men and women commonly kiss each other on the lips when greeting each other. Yak! Way too intimate, I think. 

World Kissing Day! Do you know that we are encouraged not to be economical with kissing our spouses, because scientists say kissing is good for your health? Apart from the fact that kissing burns 6 calories a minute, they say a kiss actually transfers about 80 million bacteria between two mouths and introduces new bacteria to your body, strengthening your immune system in the process. They even said kissing relieves stress and can ease allergy symptoms. Really? That must be why Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat of Thailand decided to kiss for a lip-smacking 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, between 12 to 14 February 2013. Now they hold the world record for the longest Kissing. God abeg o! That na achievement? Mtchewwww!

I am sure no Nigerian marked the World Kissing Day yesterday and I know that unlike the French that air-kiss, we shake hands and hug as a customary way of greeting. For those that pucker up and kiss their spouses, enjoy the health benefits. If you must kiss someone that is not your spouse, please do not be like Judas that betrayed his master with a kiss, but be in compliance with 1st Peter 5:14, that says 'Greet one another with a kiss of love.' Love is the essence. 

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey