The Bonjour Ritual

As I sat waiting for my fitness class to begin last night, I consciously noticed, for the first time, a cultural phenomenon that in the States would come across as rather odd. I've experienced it plenty of times, but rather than reflect on what I was participating in, I've just silently obliged.

So let's call it the "Bonjour Ritual". The class before mine was letting out, so my class (all females) was seated on benches outside of the room. As each participant walked out, they said "bonsoir", and every person seated around me said "bonsoir" back to them. I must have said "bonsoir" at least a dozen times.

The silent "rule" goes something like this: Whenever you cross someone, you say bonjour, or bonsoir if it's evening. It doesn't matter if you know them or not; it's rude to remain silent. The one exception to this rule is in the street, because you obviously can't say hello to everyone.

Here's something I can't explain, though. Something strange happened when a man came out of the room. He didn't say "bonsoir", and no one said "bonsoir" back to him. I don't know why. I felt a little sorry for him; but perhaps he didn't know what he was missing: a chorus of bonsoirs , all in unison.


*Everybody Bonjours! is a cute little childrens book about France.