  hand-kissing is a gesture indicating courtesy, politeness, respect, admiration or even devotion by a man towards a woman. a hand-kiss is initiated by the person receiving the greeting by holding out their hand with the palm facing downward; or by the person giving the greeting, by extending a hand to grasp the recipient's hand. the person kissing bows towards the offered hand and (symbolically) touches the knuckles with their lips, while lightly holding the offered hand. however, the lips do not actually touch the hand in modern tradition. the gesture is short, lasting less than a second. hand-kissing has become rare and is mostly restricted to the conservative upper class or diplomats. in turkey, malaysia, indonesia, brunei and the philippines, hand-kissing is a common way to greet elder people of both genders. after kissing the hand, the greeter will draw the hand to his own forehead. the hand-kiss is used quite prominently in the godfather series, as a way to indicate the person who is the don. it also features in epoch films, such as dangerous liaisons. ==chivalrous gesture== a hand-kiss was considered a respectful way for gentleman to greet a lady. the practice originated in the polish-lithuanian commonwealth and the spanish courts of the 17th and 18th centuries. the gesture is still at times observed in central and eastern europe, namely, poland, austria, hungary, slovakia, romania and russia. traditionally, the hand-kiss was initiated by a woman, who offered her hand to a man to kiss. the lady offering her hand was expected to be of the same or higher social status than the man. it was a gesture of courtesy and extreme politeness, and it was considered impolite to refuse an offered hand. today, the practice is very uncommon in northern european countries, and has been largely replaced by a kiss on the cheek or a handshake. today, the hand-kiss is sometimes used as a romantic gesture, usually in parting and usually initiated by a man. it could be used to convey a feeling of a more traditional and emotional attraction, rather than a superficial one that has become a stereotype of the 21st century. the gesture could be misconstrued as a parody or mockery of the original gesture, and indeed at times it may be used as such, but this is not always the sole intention. for example, it would not be mockery for a man saying goodnight to his girlfriend to kiss her hand, but a person who greatly exaggerated the practice would be clearly seen as mocking it as well as the person whose hand is being kissed. file:handkissing.jpg|a nobleman kissing a lady's hand, by pietro longhi, 1746 file:simm in der 
Gestures Gestures_of_respect Kissing Middle_Eastern_culture Western_culture