The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. Washing hands has at least two histories: one related to religious and cultural traditions that date back to ancient times, and the other with the scientific understanding of the importance of hygiene for health, which occurred only in the 19th century.

Ancient Traditions: Rituals of Purity

The earliest evidence of hand washing is not related to medicine but to religious rituals. In the cultures of Ancient Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt, ritual washing was an important part of everyday life. For example, soap recipes were found on clay tablets in Mesopotamia, and an ancient Egyptian papyrus (around 1500 BCE) describes compositions for purification.

In the ancient world, especially in Ancient Rome, hygiene was at a high level. Wealthy Romans washed their hands before meals, while slaves poured water over them from pitchers. Aromatic vinegar was often added to the water for disinfection. However, this was more a norm for the wealthy classes than a widespread practice.

Medieval Times: A Step Back and Traditions

In medieval Europe, public baths existed, but washing hands before meals was often a collective procedure. In wealthy households, guests were served water for hand washing in one basin, which was not changed between guests, making it more of a formality than real purification.

In Russia and Slavic lands, the tradition of washing hands before meals was rooted in culture. There were even special hand basins that hung almost in every house, and people bathed more often than in Europe, which was noted by foreign travelers.

Scientific Revolution: Semmelweis and Discovery

A key moment in the history of hand washing occurred in 1847. Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, working at the Vienna General Hospital, discovered that the mortality rate from \"childbed fever\" in the ward where doctors worked was significantly higher than in the ward where midwives worked.

He linked this to the fact that doctors often came to the maternity ward after autopsies, without washing their hands. Semmelweis proposed treating hands with a solution of lime chloride, and the mortality rate in his ward fell by 90% in one year.

Unfortunately, the medical community of that time did not accept Semmelweis's discovery, as the theory of microorganisms was not yet known. The idea that diseases are caused by microorganisms was later proven by Louis Pasteur, and the practical benefits of hand washing for surgery were convincingly demonstrated by English surgeon Joseph Lister in the 1860s.

The 20th Century: Hygiene Becomes the Norm

Hand washing became widespread already in the 20th century. In the Soviet Union, hygiene was elevated to a cult — children were taught to wash their hands before meals and after the toilet, and posters were hung in canteens. In other countries, hygienic norms also gradually became accepted.

Conclusion

This way, people have been washing their hands before meals since ancient times, but for them it was more of a ritual or an expression of personal neatness. As a scientifically justified medical practice preventing the spread of infections, hand washing began to be used only in the middle of the 19th century, thanks to the discovery of Ignaz Semmelweis. Washing hands before meals became an obligatory habit for most people only in the 20th century.

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