Happy #HelloDay

Why do we say hello? I came across this article on Facebook and thought I'd share it with you today.

As it turns out “hello” is a relatively new word. In use by the end of the 19th century, the phrase and the concept were quite revolutionary at the time. Back in the 1800s it was considered extremely rude to speak to people you had not been introduced to yet and so the conundrum of what to do when speaking on the telephone (to strangers) was a real head scratcher for the folks at telephone companies.

There were other choices for the preferred telephony greeting:

Alexander Graham Bell initially wanted the standard phone greeting to be “ahoy!” which is a ship hailing call that dates back at least until the 1700s. But, there were a few other suggestions put forth by other telephone manufacturers, some of which were printed in the manuals which accompanied new telephone installations.

“Are you there?”  

“Are you ready to talk?”  

“What is wanted?”

If Bell didn't come up with the telephone greeting, who did?

In 1877 Thomas Edison, competitor of Bell, pushed for “hello” and very quickly won the unofficial battle.

But how did it evolve from just a telephone greeting?

The word “hello” came to be a common greeting as the popularity of the phone skyrocketed (again the phone user manuals had a huge impact when they suggested this new and simple word). “Hello” came to be used not only used for phone conversations, but on the street as well. This informality was necessary as one could not keep to all of the many rules of 19th century etiquette while efficiently making phone calls. But, it also meant a shift in how formal introductions and rules of class and etiquette were seen.

“Hi” was in use as an exclamation (as a variant of “hey”) as early as the middle ages, but it wouldn’t catch on as the even less formal version of “hello” until the early 20th century. By 1922 the word “hi” was referenced in etiquette books as far too informal of a greeting when meeting new people, but acceptable for friends and family.

And what about ending a call?

Interesting takes on how to end a phone call were also thrown around at the time and included “God be with you” and “that is all” among the now-familiar phrase “goodbye.”

I don't see a #GoodbyeDay, so we probably won't delve into that topic!

Interesting days

Today - World Hello Day, of course. It's also  Stuffing Day, False Confession Day, Red Mitten Day, Tie One On Day, Jukebox Day and World Television Day

Tomorrow - Thanksgiving, Go For A Ride Day, Cranberry Relish Day, Day of Mourning, Turkey Free Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau Day and A Blue Christmas

Next Wednesday - French Toast Day and A Blue Christmas 

December 21 - Humbug Day, Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, Crossword Puzzle Day, Short Girl Appreciation Day, International Dalek Remembrance Day, Underdog Day, Look On The Bright Side Day, Ribbon Candy Day, Flashlight Day, Short Story Day, Don’t Make Your Bed Day
and A Blue Christmas