Ancient
Customs and Laws | Something
New Something Old | The
Wedding Party | The
Rings | Wedding Gown
| Decorating with Flowers
| The Wedding Cake |
Throwing of Rice | Tossing
the Bouquet | Tossing
the Garter | Dollar
Dance | Honking Car
Horns | Honeymoon
- Origins of the term
Ever wonder where and why some of the traditions
we follow are so important and how the customs
originated. Here is history behind some
of the traditions and customs.
Ancient Customs and Laws
The rituals surrounding the marriage ceremony
itself are associated primarily with fertility
and validate the importance of the marriage
institution to the continuation of the clan,
race, or society. The rituals of the marriage
ceremony also express the sanction of the
family or community and their understanding
of the difficulties and sacrifices involved
in making what is considered in most cases
to be a lifelong commitment to spouse and
children.
Marriage ceremonies include symbolic rites,
usually sanctified by a religious order,
that are thought to confer good fortune
on the couple. Because economic considerations
play an essential role in the success of
child rearing, the offering of gifts, both
real and symbolic, to the bride and bridegroom
are a significant part of the marriage ritual.
Fertility rites to ensure a fruitful marriage
exist in some form in all ceremonies. Some
of the oldest rituals still found in contemporary
ceremonies include the prominent display
of fruits or cereal grains, which may be
sprinkled over the couple or over their
nuptial bed; a small child who accompanies
the bride; and the breaking of an object
or of food to ensure a successful consummation
of the marriage and an easy childbirth.
The most universal ritual is one that symbolizes
a sacred union. This may be expressed by
the joining of hands, an exchange of rings
or chains, or by the tying of garments.
However, all the elements in marriage rituals
vary greatly among different societies and
are generally fixed by tradition and habit.
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Something Old, New, Borrowed and
Blue, a silver sixpence in her shoe
Something old represents the link with
the bride’s family and the past. Many
brides choose to wear a piece of antique
family jewelry or a mother or grandmother's
wedding gown. Something new represents good
fortune and success in the bride’s
new life. The wedding gown is often chosen
as the new item. Something borrowed is to
remind the bride that friends and family
will be there for her when help is needed.
The borrowed object might be something such
as a lace handkerchief. Something blue is
the symbol of faithfulness and loyalty.
A Silver Sixpence in her shoe is to with
the bride wealth.
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The Wedding Party
The tradition of asking your closest girlfriends
to be your bridesmaid dates back to ancient
times. Maids would typically dress in fashion
similar to the bride to confuse evil spirits
who are trying to kidnap her. Today, bridesmaids
are chosen for their loyalty and supportiveness
to the bride and the fashion tends to compliment
the bride’s wedding theme, and the
bride herself.
Just as there is history behind bridesmaids,
there is also a history behind choosing
a best man. Many centuries ago, grooms would
have to kidnap their prospective brides
from disapproving families. The groom would
choose a friend to bring along (his best
man) to help him fight for the woman. While
fighting, the groom would hold the woman
with his left hand, and fight with the sword
in his right hand. This could possibly be
why the bride stands to the left of the
alter, and the groom stands to the right.
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The Rings
Why is it worn on the third finger of your
left hand? Romans believed that the vein
in the third finger ran directly to the
heart and joined the couple’s hearts
and destiny.
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Wedding Gown
Present day brides dress came about when
the new American rich were trying to show
their newfound wealth by extravagant display
of abundance. Before this time, wedding
dresses were not specifically white. They
were any color and ever color and, for the
most part, were made with the idea that
the new bride would wear it for all future
parties and social functions.
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Decorating with Flowers
Flower |
Meaning |
 |
Rose
|
Love |
 |
Daisy |
Beauty |
 |
Daffodil |
Hope |
 |
Orchid |
Beauty |
 |
Tulip |
Enchantment |
 |
Gardenia |
Refined |
 |
Sunflower |
Splendid |
 |
For Get-Me-Not |
True Love |
 |
Calla Lily |
Magnificence |
 |
Iris |
Promise |
An abundance of flowers and food at the
wedding celebration symbolizes fruitfulness,
which was wished for the new bride and groom.
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The Wedding Cake
The first cake was a thin loaf, more bread
then cake. In many cultures the cake was
baked in shapes of birds or grain and used
for many celebrations.
In early Roman times a Cake was broken
over the Brides head, as a symbol of fruitfulness
and good fortune.
Guests then scrambled for the pieces of
Cake in hope to secure good luck for themselves.
The tiered cake symbolizes prosperity. In
Anglo Saxon times quests brought little
cakes to the wedding and piled them into
a heap over which the Wedding couple would
try to kiss. This was later turned into
tiered Cakes in France.
The European tradition in Wedding cakes
is mostly white, as a symbol of purity.
Wedding cakes in other cultures are often
more colorful.
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Throwing of Rice
Throwing of seed-bearing plants and grains
at the newly married couple was done as
a sign of wishing them fertility and fruitfulness
in their new life. In America rice is thrown,
in France they throw wheat while in Greece
they throw nuts and dates.
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Tossing the Bouquet
In merry ol' England, the Bride used to
walk from her shack/hut to the shrine. In
her hands she would carry a bouquet consisting
of parsley, dill weed, oregano, and garlic.
The Bouquet was deemed to ward off evil
spirits while on her way to become wed.
As the bouquet captured all the evil spirits,
it was no longer needed and she tossed it
away. Christianity changed it to good spirits
and therefore any maids not married wanted
to have that good luck so there became the
scramble to obtain the good spirits.
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Tossing the Garter
Old French wedding nights consisted of
public participation where the make attendants
helped the bride and groom undress and the
young men would fight over the bridal garters
as a wedding memento. The bride's garters
were then worn by the groomsmen in their
hatbands as you would a feather as a sign
of winning the garters. Stocking throwing
was another custom which very prevalent.
After the bride and groom were undressed,
they would sit in a bed and the groomsmen
and bridesmaids would toss the stockings
that the bride and groom had just removed
at the bride and groom as they sat up in
bed. The person that tossed the stocking
that landed on either the bride or groom
would be the next to marry. Other thought
is to be whether the bride and groom would
have a son or daughter born first.
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Dollar Dance
The Slavic/Balkan region is given the nod
for its origin. Guests would bring gifts
of coin and present them to the newly married
couple of royalty. Lower classes mimicked
the tradition giving seed, farm animals,
and household goods to add the image of
royalty to their ceremony. Spaniards brought
this tradition to the "New World"
with them and is now part of many cultures
in the Americas and Pacific islands.
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Honking Car Horns
Loud noises were said to chase away evil
spirits and during the ceremony guests would
make loud noises to keep the spirits away
during the wedding ceremony and then later
while the bridal couple completed the consummation
of the relationship. Early Americans expanded
the tradition calling it a "shuree"
or "charee" which is largely influenced
by alcohol consumption and not wanting to
party to end. (Sounds a lot like today,
huh?)
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Honeymoon - Origins of the term
There appears to be 2 commonly accepted
origins of the term "honeymoon"
The first has its roots in the northern
nations of Europe and in Babylon some 4000
years ago. It was customary for newly married
couples to drink milheglin after the marriage.
This is a kind of mead/wine made from honey.
This was done for a period of about thirty
days (or 1 lunar/moon month). From this
custom grew the term "honey month"
or "honeymoon."
An alternate explanation stems from the
Norse word "hjunottsmanathr".
Northern European history describes the
kidnap of a bride from a neighboring village.
It was necessary that the abductor take
his bride to be into hiding for a period
of time, until her family stopped searching
for her. His friends protected their safekeeping
and kept their whereabouts unknown. Once
the bride's family gave up their search,
or when she was pregnant, the bridegroom
returned to his people to arrange a "bridal
price". Its original meaning of honeymoon
is thus "hiding".
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Ancient Customs and
Laws | Something
New Something Old | The
Wedding Party | The
Rings | Wedding Gown
| Decorating with Flowers
| The Wedding Cake |
Throwing of Rice | Tossing
the Bouquet | Tossing
the Garter | Dollar
Dance | Honking Car
Horns | Honeymoon
- Origins of the term
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