Grażyna Hanaf and Dariusz Uściński will talk about kissing women’s hands, how to sneeze politely and how many emoticons can be sent in a single text message. They will also consider what kindersztuba gives us—that is, careful upbringing learned at home—and how to recognize the savoir-vivre applicable in a given culture, meaning knowledge of prevailing customs and good manners.
Dariusz Uściński:
You can get by without good manners, but is that how we want to live?
Good manners are necessary. It is worth paraphrasing Prof. Bartoszewski’s saying about being honest as follows: It is worth being cultured, even though it does not always pay off.
Kindersztuba is the foundation, the groundwork brought from the family home.
I would not recommend so-called stress-free upbringing. Do we want there to be no rules of upbringing at all?
It is important to adapt to the customs prevailing in a given cultural circle.
Answer rudeness with rudeness? That is uncultured.
Smoking used to be allowed everywhere. Now that has changed.
Constantly playing with a phone that is more important than the person we are talking to, than another human being, is uncultured.
Dress code helps one fit into a role.
Pseudo-gentlemanly and pseudo-cultured behavior annoys me.
Only the host greets people, for example at the threshold of their home.
The host or the cook who prepared the meal should also wish people “bon appétit.”
God bless you (“Na zdrowie”)—this expression was connected, among other things, with the plague epidemic. In the past, it was meant to protect people from the worst.
Kissing someone’s hand is treated differently around the world than it is in Poland. It is permissible as long as both the man and the woman want it.
In diplomatic protocol and business activities, kissing someone’s hand is inappropriate.
When greeting someone, it is the woman who extends her hand to the man first. The reverse is uncultured. The boss extends a hand first to a subordinate, and an older person to a younger one.
A handshake in greeting must not be like a dead fish or like a blacksmith’s grip.
The golden ethical rule: treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.