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Survey finds big regional differences in how Belgians greet others
Should you kiss or shake hands when greeting someone in Belgium? According to a new study, there is a great discrepancy between the north and the south of the country.
In Wallonia, the overwhelming majority believe the proper greeting for a friend is a kiss on the cheek, with 90% of people agreeing.
In Brussels, the figure was 75%, with 22% preferring a handshake.
And in Flanders only 55% of people think kissing is how to greet people you know well. The others were split between a handshake and a wave.
As far as the work environment goes, there is an even further divide between the greetings of Walloon and Flemish people. 63% of people in Wallonia kiss their colleagues, compared to just 13% in Flanders.
In Brussels workplaces, the results are fairly split. 44% say they kiss to greet their colleagues, with 40% preferring to shake hands and 21% just giving a spoken greeting.
Photo: Eric Lalmand/Belga
Comments
kissing is the best way i know to pass communicable diseases, it is a primitive custom that really should be halted
@Paradox, actually you're wrong. Evidence shows shaking hands is the most common way of passing on bacteria and infections. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1575436/Cheeky-kiss-is-healthier...
Of course Paradox is wrong. Everything he posts is negative, nasty and nonsense.
I doubt anybody would want to kiss him!
I prefer to kiss my colleagues after being informed by my male office mate how many of our male colleagues don’t wash their hands when they leave the toilet.
An excellent suggestion! 9apps.red