Question about table manners

by Anne
(Potomac, MD)

Dear Ms. Manners,

Both my husband and I are first-generation Americans and would like to know whether it's polite to keep both hands on the table while eating? I understand that the American tradition is to keep the left hand on the lap. In Europe it's the opposite: you have to keep both hands on the table at all times.

I saw some old pictures of the White House dinner receptions where people do keep both of their hands on the table. I also noticed that now the majority of people in restaurants do keep their both hands on the table. Are they bad-mannered, foreigners, or is this a new norm? Are there two norms now and which way is more polite?

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Anne