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Kissing our hands

AikotiEnsokAikotiEnsok
edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church
I've always wondered why in the part of the liturgy when we're like "we praise you, we bless you, we thank you oh Lord, and we entreat you-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo our God."

Why do we kiss both sides of our hands on "we thank you"??

Thank you,
Pray for me,
Chris

Comments

  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    [quote author=AikotiEnsok link=topic=9456.msg116549#msg116549 date=1279162583]
    I've always wondered why in the part of the liturgy when we're like "we praise you, we bless you, we thank you oh Lord, and we entreat you-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo our God."

    Why do we kiss both sides of our hands on "we thank you"??

    Thank you,
    Pray for me,
    Chris


    anytime we say "thanks" it's the coptic tradition to kiss our hands, inside and out.
  • SilentOneSilentOne
    When we kiss our palms, we're thanking God for all He has put into our hands. When we kiss the outside of them, we thank Him, for what He has not given us, though I've also heard the interpretation that we thank Him for what He has taken from our hands as well.
  • Christforlife7Christforlife7
    The way I've learned it, when we kiss our hands facing towards us, we are thanking God for what we received- taking it towards us with open hands. And when we kiss our hands facing out, we are thanking God for the trials or things we have now wanted and would want to push away.

    All interpretations work, its just important to be constantly thankful for all in our lives, good and bad. Because we know God is good, all the time :)
  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy
    I would not say this is a Coptic tradition, if anything its actually an Arabic tradition, "neboos edena wish wedahr"

    and it means you kiss your hand, thanking for what you have received and what you haven't received...


    Neshkor Allah, akhadna el baraka!
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    We say "We Thank You (O Lord)", so kissing our hands is a gesture that what we have IS from God.

    We thank God for what He has given us (we kiss the palms of our hands), and what He has not given us (the outside of our hands).

  • ilovesaintmarkilovesaintmark
    It is common to the Middle East and not specifically an Arabic thing.

    Jews do it also.

    Coptics are not Arabs.
  • geomike
    yes, COPTS are EGYPTIAN!!!
  • ilovesaintmarkilovesaintmark
    Geo,

    I think you are beginning to sound like a zealot.  :)
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