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Trying to define Southern culture is like trying to pin a butterfly to a cork board. Comparing Alabama to Maryland or the Carolinas is a fool’s errand; a debate rages as to whether Texas is even “Southern.” The Southern states are some of the most politically and ethnically diverse in the country (sure, we tend to vote Republican, except when we don’t). And “Southern food” means so many different things, from the Cuban-American pork and plantains you’ll find in Florida to the jambalaya and étouffée of Louisiana Creole cuisine.

But something happens when you walk down the street in Houston or Charleston that you’d never expect up north: People smile and say hello. That friendly disposition may be one of the few true truisms of the American South, and it’s the guiding principle behind our famously warm hospitality.

Here are five things all Southern hosts know — all of which you can take to heart no matter where you live.

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Be Nice and Share!

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