National Kissing Day

What the day is

National Kissing Day is observed every year on June 22. It sets aside a day for one of the most ordinary and most universal human gestures: the kiss. That can mean a kiss between partners, a parent's kiss on a child's forehead, a greeting kiss on the cheek between friends, or a kiss blown across a room. The day is informal and has no organizing body or rules. It is sometimes confused with International Kissing Day, which is marked on July 6.

Origin and background

The origins of the June 22 observance are unclear, and no verified founder or first year is recorded. It is most often associated with the United Kingdom, where it has circulated in media and greeting-card contexts for years, and it is also noted in the United States and elsewhere.

Kissing itself has a far longer record. Affectionate and ritual kissing appears in ancient texts from South Asia and the Mediterranean world, and the gesture carries different weight in different cultures. In some societies a kiss is a routine greeting; in others it is strictly private. The so-called Eskimo kiss, in which noses touch, is loosely based on the Inuit kunik, a gesture of affection usually shared between family members rather than a substitute for a romantic kiss.

There is even a name for the study of kissing: philematology. Researchers have looked at what happens in the body during a kiss, including the release of endorphins and of oxytocin, a hormone linked with bonding and with feelings of calm and closeness. That is the usual basis for the familiar claim that kissing lowers stress.

How to take part

• Give the people you live with a kiss goodbye in the morning, or a kiss hello at the end of the day.
• Send a card or a note to someone you cannot see in person.
• Watch a film built around a famous screen kiss, or read a few love poems aloud.
• Make it a small occasion at home with something shared, such as chocolates, a bottle of wine or a simple dinner.
• Look after the practical side: lip balm, a toothbrush, a decent mouthwash.
• Learn how greetings work elsewhere, from the single cheek kiss to the double or triple, and when a handshake is the better choice.

The day also works as a reminder that a kiss is always a matter of consent. Not everyone wants to be kissed hello, and reading that correctly is part of the courtesy the gesture is supposed to carry.