Greetings, manners and hospitalityEurope
Handshake
A brief clasp of hands to greet, part or seal a deal, with local rules on how it is done
A handshake is a short greeting or farewell: two people clasp hands, often with a single up-and-down movement, then let go. It is used around the world on meeting and parting, to congratulate, to thank, and to mark a business or diplomatic agreement, though each culture sets its own rules about how and when it is offered.
When is Handshake kept?
Handshake is kept on whenever people meet, part, congratulate, thank or conclude a deal.
Two people take hold of each other's hand, usually move it up and down once, and let go. That small act carries a lot: it says hello, goodbye, well done, thank you, or that a deal is settled. Almost everywhere it is understood, yet almost everywhere the details differ, from how hard to grip to whether bare skin is expected.
What it is
A handshake is a brief grip between two people. One person offers a hand, the other takes it, and the joined hands are normally moved up and down once. Then they separate. It happens most often with bare skin, unless local custom or a health concern says otherwise. The gesture is understood almost everywhere, but it is not one single thing: what counts as correct in one place may seem odd or even rude in another. A handshake can open a meeting, close a visit, congratulate a winner, thank a helper, or put the final touch on a deal.
Origins and history
No one knows for certain how the handshake began. One common idea is that it grew out of an old gesture of peace, because an open hand shows that no weapon is held. Another is that clasped hands stood for a shared promise, the sealing of a bond. The oldest surviving picture of one is an Assyrian carving from the 9th century BC, in which King Shalmaneser III of Assyria and King Marduk-zakir-shumi I of Babylon clasp hands. Ancient Greek art and writing record the practice from the 5th century BC onward, where it was known as dexiosis. A funerary stele in Berlin's Pergamon Museum shows two soldiers joining hands, and a 4th-century BC example shows Thraseas and his wife Euandria.
What it means
A handshake is a small ritual with a large meaning. It says the two people meet as equals, with nothing to hide. In business and diplomacy it announces that an agreement has been reached; on a sports field it shows respect for an opponent. Whole alternatives have grown up around it, which suggests that what matters is the contact and the goodwill, not the exact movement. People who study it note that a shaken hand often travels up towards the nose, as if the gesture also carries information about the person on the other side.
Around the world
Customs shift from place to place. In Canada, Britain and the United States, business handshakes tend to be firm. Austrians offer a hand on meeting, children included, and Norwegians shake on a deal. In Russia it is mostly a greeting between men, and in Switzerland the woman's hand may be taken first. Israel treats handshakes as standard among Jewish people, though Orthodox communities frown on public handshaking between men and women, and they are not usual among Palestinians or Israeli Arabs. Turkey and the Arabic-speaking Middle East prefer a gentler grip. Japan has no handshaking tradition and prefers a formal bow, though Japanese people may shake hands with visitors. In Ethiopia the left hand stays out of a handshake.
Today and change
Hands carry microbes, and a handshake passes them on. Scabies, for example, spreads mainly through skin-to-skin contact, and one study concluded that a fist bump or a high five transfers fewer germs than a clasped hand. During the 2009 H1N1 outbreak a Canadian medical dean suggested the fist bump as a possible replacement. A doctor at a Los Angeles hospital later tried a handshake-free zone, without banning the gesture, and offered bowing, waving, smiling or a namaste greeting instead. When COVID-19 arrived, several countries and organisations urged people to greet one another differently, using elbow bumps, foot taps or gestures that avoid touching.
How Handshake is kept
A hand is offered, palm open and thumb up. The other person takes it, and the two hands close around each other. Most people add one gentle up-and-down movement before letting go. Bare hands are the usual form, unless health or local practice suggests otherwise. It happens at first meetings and farewells, when someone is praised or thanked, at the end of a sports match, and when a business or diplomatic deal is being confirmed. Where a handshake seals an agreement, the parties may regard it as binding only after the hands have separated.
When and where
A handshake has no fixed date. It belongs to the moment a person arrives, leaves, is congratulated, says thanks, signs a deal or finishes a match. Because it is tied to events rather than the calendar, it can happen on any day of the year, at any hour, indoors or out.
Customs vary, but the gesture itself appears across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, in cities and villages alike. It is most at home in business, diplomacy and sport, and in many places it is simply the ordinary way to meet someone or take leave.
What Handshake means
It is meant to show trust, respect, balance and equality. An offered hand with no weapon in it says that nothing is hidden, which is why a clasp has long stood for peace as well as for a promise being sealed. Different communities read extra layers into it, and the grip itself can carry a message: firm, soft, brief or long.
Questions people ask about Handshake
When is Handshake kept?
Handshake is kept on whenever people meet, part, congratulate, thank or conclude a deal.
What is a handshake?
It is a short grip between two people, usually with one gentle up-and-down movement before the hands let go. It is used to greet, to take leave, to congratulate, to give thanks, or to confirm that a business or diplomatic agreement has been reached.
Where did the handshake come from?
Nobody knows for certain. One idea is that it began as a sign of peace, since an open hand holds no weapon. Clasped hands may also have stood for a promise. The oldest surviving image is an Assyrian carving from the 9th century BC.
Is a handshake the same everywhere?
No. Grip strength, the hand used, who offers first and whether a bow or a spoken greeting accompanies it all change from place to place. Customs also differ over who may shake hands with whom.
Why do some people avoid handshakes?
Hands pass on germs, and some illnesses spread through skin contact. During outbreaks of H1N1 and COVID-19, health bodies and governments suggested alternatives such as fist bumps, elbow bumps, waves or bows.
See also
Habesha coffee ceremonyA daily ritual of roasting, grinding and serving coffee to welcome guests in Ethiopia and Eritrea
XeniaAn ancient Greek code of hospitality and guest-friendship rooted in reciprocity and divine duty.
Cheek kissingA greeting gesture where people touch cheeks or lips to cheeks to show friendship or respect.
Barn raisingA communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysGood reading and sources
- ABC News & HeadlinesABC News Australia, Article
- Fist bump can pound out flu transmissionCBC, Article
- Coronavirus: The 'Wuhan shake' or the elbow bump?BBC, Article
- ABC News & HeadlinesABC News Australia, Article
- Fist bump can pound out flu transmissionCBC, Article
- Coronavirus: The 'Wuhan shake' or the elbow bump?BBC, Article
- Handshake on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Handshake", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.
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