Southern hospitality

Southern hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the stereotype (albeit a positive one) that residents of the Southern United States are particularly warm and welcoming to visitors to their homes, or to the South in general.

outhern hospitality described

Some characteristics of southern hospitality were described as early as 1835, when Jacob Abbott attributed the poor quality of taverns in the south to the lack of need for them, given the willingness of southerners to provide for strangers. [Jacob Abbott, "New England, and Her Institutions" (1835), p. 223.] Abbott writes:

Abbot further describes how the best stores of the house are at the disposal of visitors. [Abbot, p. 223.] Furthermore, says Abbott:

A large component of the idea of Southern hospitality is the provision of Southern cuisine to visitors, hence there are a number of cookbooks that promise recipes advancing this purpose.

Other features of Southern Hospitality include proper local etiquette (i.e., calling one "Sir" or "Ma'am," opening doors for women, cooking enough for everyone who might be around at mealtime, inviting one to church functions, etc.) While persons from outside the region often mistake many of the southern hospitality customs as being disingenuous or fake in some way, in actuality the customs are often a way to make the visitor feel as comfortable as possible in an unfamiliar setting. Additionally, although some customs may be seen as odd or even offensive by people not from the South, they are considered polite in local culture and usually meant as an expression of traditional warm greeting.

Food figures highly in Southern hospitality. A cake or other delicacy is often brought to the door of a new neighbor as a mechanism of introduction. Many club and church functions include a meal or at least a dessert and beverage. Churches in the South frequently have large commercial style kitchens to accommodate this tradition, but many "fellowship suppers" are "covered dish": everyone attending brings a dish. However, if a newcomer arrives without a dish, he or she will be made to feel welcome and served generously. When a death or serious illness occurs, neighbors, friends, and church members generally bring food to the bereaved family for a period of time.

Several cities are viewed as being bastions of Southern hospitality. These include Charleston, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Wilmington, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee and Savannah, Georgia.

Critical examination

Southern hospitality has been examined by sociologists and other social scientists, some of whom have characterized the practices as a masquerade designed to cover deficiencies in southern culture, such as slavery, discrimination, and widespread poverty.

One such author writes:

Southern hospitality has also been examined, however, as a reflection of the deeply-held religious beliefs of the region; the idea that one should be good to strangers is an outgrowth of such Biblical parables as the Good Samaritan. Indeed Ernest Hamlin Abbott wrote in 1902, "as religious observances are in the South as naturally included in the hospitality of the home as anything else, so, conversely, hospitality in the South is an integral part of the church services". [Ernest Hamlin Abbott, "Religious Life in America: A Record of Personal Observation" (1902), p. 111.]

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