Where did French kissing coming from?
By Michelle Toglia — Written on Jul 12, 2013
Sunday is Bastille Day, the French national holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Which naturally, got us thinking about something else French: kissing. Where did it come from? We know Paris is the city of love and dreamy accents, but how did making out come to be?
The French actually didn't even have a verb for the term until this May, when it was added to the dictionary. Prior to that, "Galocher," the verb which means "to kiss with tongues" was straight up slang.
How could the creators of the French kiss not even define their type of smooching, you ask? Well, they didn't exactly coin the term.
In fact, it was actually also once called a "Florentine Kiss." According to the AP, the French kissing came from British and American soliders returning home from Europe after World War I, who greeted their wives and girlfriends as they observed the "sexually adventourous" French to do — with lusty, passionate kisses.
Even though we credit the English soliders for the popular term, the French were the ones to show us how it's done.
So, on Bastille Day this weekend, we invite you to do as the French do ... and make out like you mean it.
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