Formal Etiquette Rules

During the period between 1600 and 1700, the nobles in the French royal court had much time on their hands and did not have much work to do. Ample free time led them to create elaborate social practices. They made a list of appropriate social behavior and called it ‘etiquette’. The word originated from a French word that translated to 'ticket. Some of the interesting social practices followed in the court of Louis XIV were -  people who wished to speak to the king were not allowed to knock on the door and were instead instructed to use the little finger of their left hand to gently scratch on the door for permission to enter, ladies were allowed to touch only the fingertips of men in public and both men and women were not allowed to cross their legs.

 

Soon, formal etiquette practices spread all across Europe and eventually, the upper class people in Western countries began following these codes of behavior too. Till this day, there are many codes of conduct that need to be adhered to, in order to appear appropriate in public. However, the etiquette and codes of behavior vary from country to country. For instance, in Japan, it is bad to put chopsticks in a vertical position in a bowl, as it is done only in Buddhist funeral ceremonies. If you are invited to a place that has a different culture, remember to learn about its customs, so that you do not end up offending anybody unknowingly. Although codes of conduct do vary from place to place, there are some general rules of formal etiquette that remain the same. They have been discussed further.

 

 

 

If everyone adheres to basic social customs, it will prevent being offensive unintentionally. Etiquette is necessary to maintain order in public places in and create a pleasant environment.