How do people in the North pay their respects? Is it to kneel down and kowtow?

One bow and three kowtows, which is a grand ritual, mostly the following occasions, the first time to meet the elders, to see the ancestor level elders, to pay homage to the high virtue or status of the high status of the person, to pay homage to the teacher, to pay homage to the New Year, to pay homage to the birthday, to pay homage to the occasions of thanks, and so on.

The ceremony is to make a long bow, and then bend the knees and kneel down, kowtow after the first head, keep the kneeling position, straighten the upper body, and then kowtow the second head, and then kowtow the third head, and finally stand up. It is rude to touch your head to the ground three times in a row without straightening your upper body, as if you were "pounding garlic" (young children are allowed to do so).

Extended information:

Generally, kowtowing to elders, preferably grandparents, is not allowed, as it will shorten your life. The kowtow is to touch the ground with the palm of the hand, no need to be positive or negative, the head must be kowtowed to the ground in order to show respect. Generally when kowtowing to God and Buddha, the hand is required to be forward and backward a bit, indicating innocence.

Simple kowtow (single kowtow) is a common ritual for children to do to their elders. The general situation is that children accompany their parents to meet the elders, and the parents say, "Come and meet XX (elders) and kowtow to XX." The child should first say, "Kowtow to XX." Then he or she will kneel with knees bent, hands on the ground, and head touching the ground to complete the kowtow, and then stand up and stand on his or her side.

The elders must do two things after accepting the child's kowtow, one is that they should promptly say, "Good, get up." One is to give the child some "reward", such as knick-knacks, candy, etc., or give a change, "head" is not accepted in vain! In the olden days, many people would say, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And stop the child kowtow, so as to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to get a gift.