Hospitality

The act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Contemporary usage seems rather different from historical uses that lend it personal connotations. Today's hospitality conjures images of gracious hosts entertaining, etiquette, Martha Stewart or even talk shows, or, the hospitality services industry as it relates to the entertainment and tourism business. On the other hand, hospitality used to be, and may still be, a serious personal duty or responsibility.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hospitality is a prosaic word, even trivial, that everyone can relate to, perhaps even more concretely so outside of North American culture. It seems perhaps even a candidate for having something like a universal meaning or agreement, if not positive value.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the western context, with its dynamic tension between Athens and Jerusalem, two phases can be distinguished with a very progressive transition: a hospitality based on an individually felt sense of duty, and one based on "official" institutions for organized but anonymous social services: special places for particular types of "strangers" such as the poor, orphan, ill, alien, criminal, etc. Perhaps this progressive institutionalization can be aligned to the transition between Middle Ages and Renaissance (Ivan_Illich, The Rivers North of the Future).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Etiquette: Etiquette is the code that governs the expectations of social behavior, the conventional norm. It is an unwritten code, which evolves from written rules, for the Greek equivalent of etiquette is protokollon, protocol, the written formula for ceremonial. It usually reflects a theory of conduct that ...

Martha Stewart: Martha Stewart (born August 3, 1941) is a television and magazine personality known for her cooking, gardening, etiquette, and arts and crafts projects, and as a general lifestyle guide and homemaker. She is also a successful businesswoman and an American icon. Starting in 2002 her career was rocked...

Talk shows: REDIRECT Talk show...

Hospitality related Images and Photos (experimental)

South Hospitality	Our Hospitality 1923	Hospitality Pineapple 2012 Kitchen Towel	Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes With Southern Charm (Hardcover)
Indiana License Plate, Hoosier Hospitality IN-104	The Peasant Gibeah Offering Hospitality to the Levite