by: Trina Justman Reichert
When is the last time you solidified a promise by saying “cross my heart”? Or by agreeing to do something with a friend by linking each other’s pinkies? Perhaps the more common adult physical way to demonstrate a commitment would be to place your hand over your heart or to shake hands. According to the article “What is the origin of the handshake” on History.com, “When they clasped hands, people showed that their word was a sacred bond. ‘An agreement can be expressed quickly and clearly in words,’ the historian Walter Burkert once explained, ‘but is only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, weaponless hands stretched out toward one another, grasping each other in a mutual handshake’.”
Read the complete story here.
