Characteristics Of Southern Hospitality

The south is known for a lot of things, amazing sweet tea, good barbeque, but have you ever thought about southern hospitality? No, it isn’t one of Ludacris’s albums, well, not in this sense anyway. Southern Hospitality to me is defined as people being willing enough to volunteer their time, homes, churches, etc to the community, or even country. Tennessee in particular is well known for their southern hospitality, and willingness to volunteer. We’re called the Volunteer State because in the War of 1812 and the Mexican war, we supplied a record number of soldiers, who all willingly donated their lives to help.
If you go deep enough into Tennessee, you will find how open our homes, and hearts are. A lot of this has to do with Tennessee’s strong religious views. Many people often volunteer through their churches, so had it not been for those churches, many people would still be in need. People often donate their homes as well. Some characteristics of southern hospitality have been described as early as 1835, when Jacob Abbott mentioned the willingness of southerners to provide for strangers. He wrote,
A traveler, with the garb and the manners of a gentleman, finds a welcome at every door. A stranger is riding on horseback through Virginia or Carolina. It is noon. He sees a plantation, surrounded with trees, a little distance from the road. Without hesitation he rides to the door. The gentleman of the house sees his approach and is ready upon the steps. Conversation flows cheeringly, for the southern gentleman has a particular tact in making a guest happy. After dinner you are urged to pass the afternoon and night, and if you are a gentleman in manners and information, your host will be in reality highly gratified by your so