A collection of kisses
A kiss - a simple act that can convey a diverse array of meanings. A kiss can be intimate and private, or meant for public display, it can convey love and affection, or simply provide comfort. Its use as a greeting is under fire in our current climate of H1N1 fear, as the French government has begun encouraging citizens to forgo "la bise", their traditional cheek-to-cheek kiss, for health reasons. Gathered here are 33 recent photos of kisses expressing greetings and farewells, congratulations and joy, respect and, above all, love.
Team Columbia rider Mark Cavendish of Britain receives kisses on the podium after winning the second stage of the Tour of Ireland cycling race in Killarney August 22, 2009. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)
Spc. Dan Kovac and wife Tara Kovac of Bellwood, Pennsylvania kiss as the first wave of more than 4,000 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen returned to Fort Dix on Aug. 25, 2009, coming home from from combat operations in Iraq. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Robertson, Philadelphia Inquirer) #
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko kisses the Ukrainian National flag in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, as he attends the State Flag Day. (AP Photo/Presidential Press Service, Mykhailo Markiv) #
A couple kiss as they set up at the Climate Camp on Blackheath, in south London, on August 26, 2009. Around 1,000 activists descended Wednesday on a stretch of open land in London after the location of the week-long Climate Camp was finally revealed. Protesters arrived from several areas of the capital to Blackheath in south east London, setting up the camp on a hill overlooking Docklands and Canary Wharf. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images) #
Heath Slocum kisses his 20 month-old daughter Stella, as he celebrates his win at The Barclays golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) #
A couple dance during the qualifying rounds of the 7th Tango Dance World Championship in Buenos Aires, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) #
Connie Kirchner kisses her cat, Buddy, after finding he had survived the 49er fire that destroyed her home in Auburn, California, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. The 49er fire broke out Sunday, consuming 340 acres, and burned an estimated 50 homes. Kirchner and her family were forced to flee their home Sunday before they could grab Buddy. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) #
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon kisses his baby girl Parker on the head while sitting with his wife Ashley before taking on the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on August 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Adam Hunger) #
Actor Moa'tasem al-Beek kisses the U.S flag during a play titled "American Experience" in Amman, Jordan on August 31, 2009. The satire address issues Arabs living in the U.S. Faced after the September 11, 2001. (REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed) #
Brawn GP Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello of Brazil kisses the TV camera on podium after the Italian F1 Grand Prix in Monza September 13, 2009. Barrichello won the race ahead of his team mate Jenson Button of Britian and Ferrari's driver kimi Raikkonen of Finland. (REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini) #
Zookeeper Nadja Radovic kisses a 6-day-old lion cub, in the lion's enclosure, at Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. Three cubs were born Aug. 13, from mother African lion Kiara, and father, a white lion called Wambo, who is a top attraction at Belgrade Zoo. (AP Photo/Srdjan Ilic) #
Melat Yante, Miss Ethiopia 2009, gets a kiss from Cassie the Sea Lion while in Dolphin Cay at ATLANTIS, Paradise Island, Bahamas, August 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Miss Universe Organization L.P.,LLLP)
Whitney Toyloy, Miss Switzerland 2009, kisses a dolphin at Dolphin Cay in Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas on August 8, 2009. She is in the Bahamas for the 2009 Miss Universe competition which was held in the Imperial Ballroom at ATLANTIS, Paradise Island on August 23, 2009. (DARREN DECKER/AFP/Getty Images) #
Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain kisses his running shoe after winning the men's 1500 metres final during the world athletics championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, August 19, 2009. (REUTERS/Michael Dalder) #
Kim Clijsters of Belgium kisses the championship trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the Women's Singles final on day fourteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2009 in the Queens borough of New York City. Clijsters defeated Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) #
This picture taken on July 8, 2009, shows Aksentije, 14, a Serbian youth with Downs Syndrome being kissed by his father Sasa as he attends a community center in the southwestern Serbian town Aleksandrovac. Aksentije plays a leading role in a film highlighting the difficulties of disabled persons being accepted into society, and how they strive to triumph over adversity. (ALEXA STANKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images) #
Angie Heusinger, firefighter Jonathan Croom's mother, kisses his casket after speaking during a funeral mass for her son at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. Croom was one of two Buffalo firefighters who died Monday, Aug. 24, 2009 after falling through the floor and into the basement of a burning convenience store while searching for a victim who was reported trapped. (AP Photo/Harry B. Scull, J.R.) #
A student kisses his mother on the sidelines of the making of the film "Abel" at a school being used as a movie set in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) #
