Hobbit "social" mores, aye, we wonders...

[Midgardsormen]

Back to the topic a bit. Hobbit habits are different from ours...and since they spend about 10 years longer growing up than we do there are lots of years for the youngsters to roam, go camping and form friendships. They seem much more into hugging than most people reading this thread are used to, but do not forget that that is very American [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
In most of the rest of the world, it is commom to see guys hugging each other, kissing eachother's cheek etc. And in most of the world, nudity among the same sex is considered normal. Locker rooms and school showers are communal (segregated into men and women usually)with no stall or doors and noone thinks twice about being naked around others, especially not their friends. The hobbits having baths together at Crickhollow and running around naked in the sun to warm up while with Bombadil is NORMAL behaviour for Hobbits.
If nudity means nothing and you find your best friend who you thought was maybe tortured to death alive, but having just been whipped.....you would not worry about him or her wearing something or not I bet. You would rush over and hug them just as Sam did and only think about clothes when you started thinking ahead. It would be interesting to hear what people from other nations felt when reading the book or seeing the movie....I just thought it was beautiful!