The kiss of peace is an ancient traditional Christian greeting, also called the holy kiss, and sometimes the "brother kiss" (among men), or the "sister kiss" (among women). Such greetings signify a wish and blessing that peace be with the recipient, and besides their spontaneous uses they have certain ritualized or formalized uses long established in liturgy. Many denominations use other forms of greeting (besides literal kisses) to serve equivalent purposes; these include handshakes, gestures, and hugs, any of which may be called a sign of peace. History It was the widespread custom in the ancient western Mediterranean for men to greet each other with a kiss. That was also the custom in ancient Judea and practiced also by Christians. However, the New Testament's references to a holy kiss (, ) and kiss of love () transformed the character of the act beyond a greeting; furthermore, in the early Church, "the verbal exchange of 'peace' with a kiss appears to be a Christian innovation, there being no clear example in pre-Christian literature." The holy kiss was thus followed as a biblical teaching, rather than a cultural tradition. Such a kiss is mentioned five times in the concluding section of letters in the New Testament: Romans 16:16—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Corinthians 16:20—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 2 Corinthians 13:12—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Thessalonians 5:26—"Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss" (Greek: ). 1 Peter 5:14—"Greet one another with a kiss of love" (Greek: ). The early Christian apologist Tertullian wrote that before leaving a house, Christians are to give the holy kiss and say "peace to this house". Since the aforementioned epistles were addressed to Christian communities they would most probably have been read in the context of their communal worship. It has been noted that these mentions of the holy kiss come at the end of these epistles, indicating "that the kiss was shared in conjunction with the benedictions at the conclusion of worship services" though it soon "became associated with the Eucharist" and thus "its location during the worship service moved forward in time to the celebration of Communion." The holy kiss was seen as an essential part of preparting to partaking in the Eucharist: For the early Christians, the holy kiss "was associated with the peace and unity given by the