Bread is one of the oldest foods in human history: studies initially linked its emergence to the development of agriculture, but recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that its appearance dates back over 14,500 years. Well before the birth of agriculture, hunter-gatherer communities were already grinding wild cereals to obtain a practical and nutritious food, which would prove extremely valuable for survival over the millennia. The value of bread compared to the past, especially in our latitudes, has been lost, so much so that it is one of the most wasted foods, but in many parts of the world it still represents an essential source of sustenance: in many Mediterranean cultures, up until about fifty years ago (the elderly still remember it), kissing bread was a gesture that evoked its sacredness.
Bread is Much More Than Just Food
Many popular beliefs surrounding the use of bread, from its making to its serving, are tied to the religious symbolism of this food, which, particularly in Christianity, represents the body of Christ in the Eucharist; just as in the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to give us "our daily bread." Bread unites the sacred and, at the same time, represents people's right to a dignified diet: many loaves of bread are marked with a cross before being baked, an incision that has technical implications on the one hand (to improve leavening) and on the other carries meanings of protection and blessing. In short, wasting bread was not an option; in fact, it was considered a real sin, so much so that many recycling recipes came from farmers who found ways to use even old, dry bread, including soups and rustic pies. Without forgetting that making bread themselves or buying it required work and effort.
Why and When People Kissed Bread
However, it could happen that the bread had to be thrown away, and this is where the kiss came into play: before being thrown away, the loaves were kissed as a sign of respect, to alleviate the sense of guilt of committing a wrong action towards God. Especially in the regions of southern Italy, between Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily, however, a kiss was also given when a loaf or a piece accidentally fell to the ground: the bread was still considered edible, but in some way it was "desecrated". Thus, before eating it, it was kissed (often it was women or children who did it), always to ask for forgiveness for the offense caused, in a sort of "rite" of purification.
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