Wedding Traditions Unveiled

Weddings are that special occasion where two"vena amoris," or "love vein." When Christianity
people come together to celebrate their love forbecame the dominant religion of Europe, the vena
one another. Yet, was it always this way? Howamoris was replaced with a holy seal. Priests
did marriage come to be, and what is thewould take the wedding ring and touch the first
meaning behind some of the many strangethree fingers of the left hand (thumb, index and
traditions observed today?middle) while reciting: "the father, the son and the
We assume that marriage has always been aholy ghost." Upon reaching the 4th finger, the ring
sanctimonious tradition; however marriage waswas placed on it to seal the marriage.
not originally about "holy matrimony" or "trueFor a long while the ring went from being a
love." The original intent of marriage was to insuresymbol of endless love, to that of ownership. The
a safe environment for the bringing up of children,Romans used it like a branding. It was worn by
as well as the acquisition and transfer of property.the husband's wife, to signify his ownership over
Indeed it is the rather superficial "marriage ofher. Two thousand years ago, in Asia, this
convenience" which can be viewed as the originalownership concept was taken to a new level with
meaning of marriage. Eventually marriage became"puzzle rings." These were rings that were worn
more about love, and less about property.by brides as a sign of loyalty. If a bride were to
Throughout that time, though, numerous differenttake her puzzle ring off, it would fall to pieces.
traditions and superstitions have surfaced. HereThese pieces could then only be put back
are just a few of these.together by knowing the solution to the puzzle.
In Ghana, Africa, location is everything. Women inSo what of the history of other common
Ghana are viewed as the life force of the tribe.wedding traditions?
After all, they were where all the great warriorsOne interesting tradition is the presence of a
and chiefs came from. Because of this, Zuluflower on the buttonhole of the groom. The
culture referred to women as "the great homes."flower matches one of the flowers in the bride's
Because of this status, it was consideredbouquet. This was a holdover from medieval
customary for the husband to be, to move to histimes, when a knight would wear his lady's colours
bride's village.in order to signify his love for her. I suppose that
The Mande people of Africa practicemeans that in one small way, chivalry isn't dead.
clitoridectomies (female circumcision). During thisThen we have the confetti. Prior to being paper,
time, the women are taught how to be goodconfetti was originally a mix ofrose petals, rice
wives. They are also taught a special "secret"and grain. Before that, it consisted of various
language that is only spoken by married women.sweets which were thrown over the couples as
A common African tradition is "jumping over thethey emerged from the church. It originated in
broom." The broom has become a symbol of theItaly. In fact, confetti is Italian for: candy.
sweeping out of the old, to welcome in the new.Finally, what "history of weddings" article would be
The part about jumping over is actually of Northcomplete, without a brief rundown of some
American origin. It was from the days of slavery,popular wedding superstitions?
when slaves were not allowed to marry. ByThe day that a wedding took place, was
jumping over the broom, the couple wasconsidered to be vitally important. As such, a little
solidifying the seriousness of their marriage.rhyme was concocted to allow future couples to
In 1076, in Europe, it was decreed that no manpick the appropriate days for their marriage.
should give away his daughter, or other femaleMonday for wealth
relative, without a priestly blessing. InterestinglyTuesday for health
enough, it wasn't until the 16th century thatWednesday the best day of all
priests were even required to perform weddingThursday for losses
ceremonies. Another interesting medieval tradition:Friday for crosses
women at the time would pluck their hairlines inSaturday for no luck at all
order to attain higher foreheads, which wereThen there was the month. Depending on what
considered more attractive at the time.month one was married in, one's marriage could
Conservative/Orthodox Jews have a neatbe glorious or tragic. By far the worst month of
tradition where the bride walks 3 to 7 timesall, was May. This was due to the historic pagan
around her husband to be. This is done to signifybelief that May was the start of summer. This
that she is a protective wall for her husband, andwas celebrated by the festival of Beltane
that by stepping inside, their family status has(commonly called May Day, now). As part of the
changed. Ah, but what of the breaking of glass?festival, couples were encouraged to have
This is done to represent the many, manyoutdoor orgies to bless the crops and the Earth.
tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. ItBecause of this, it was considered a bad month
acts as a reminder of those bad times.for a newly monogamous couple to marry. The
Interestingly, the Muslim faith doesn't reallybest month of all, for marriage, was June. This
celebrate weddings. A marriage is strictly anwas because June was named after the Roman
officious occasion. The marriage occurs inside angoddess of love: Juno. Interestingly, June is now
office, rather than a mosque. The wedding isthe second most popular month for marriages.
viewed as a private civil/religious contract. TheAugust has recently taken over the top spot for
only real tradition here is that the groom mustweddings.
give his bride a dower to serve as insurance forNext we come to the bridal dress itself. While
her future.most brides today marry in white (which
Japanese (Shinto) weddings are also small andsymbolizes maidenhood), the tradition is only as
private affairs, though they are far moreold as the 16th century. Prior to that, brides chose
elaborate. Both bride and groom sip three timeswhatever colour dress they would like. There was
from three separate cups of sake. It is done toa general rule of thumb though.
guarantee luck and happiness in the marriage.Married in White, you have chosen right,
Chinese brides are given chestnuts and jujubes.Married in Blue, your love will always be true,
This was done with the wish of the bride toMarried in Pearl, you will live in a whirl,
conceive a son as soon as possible. Brides wearMarried in Brown, you will live in a town,
red dresses to symbolize the color of love andMarried in Red, you will wish yourself dead,
joy. As we shall see further down, EuropeansMarried in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow,
viewed the color red in a completely differentMarried in Green, ashamed to be seen,
light.Married in Pink, your spirit will sink,
Speaking of Europeans, many Eastern orthodoxMarried in Grey, you will go far away,
ceremonies featured the placement of wreathsMarried in Black, you will wish yourself back.
on the heads of both bride and groom. It wasGreen dresses were viewed as being a sign of
done to symbolize their place as king and queenpromiscuity. This lead to the old saying that a
of the heavenly kingdom of Earth.woman "has a green gown." This was meant to
With such a wide variety of traditions out there, itsignify that she was rolling around in grassy fields.
is interesting to note that two of them areBack then, only Irish women were considered
almost universal among human culture: the"okay" in a green bridal gown.
wedding veil and the wedding ring.Last, but not least, we have the classic wedding
The Veilrhyme: Something old, something new. It started
Wedding veils saw their origin among the Romans.back in Victorian times, but what does it mean?
Ancient Romans believed that women wereSomething old: This represents the friends of the
particularly susceptible to possession by demoniccouple and the hopes that they will remain friends
spirits during weddings (perhaps they had a lot ofthroughout the marriage. This was traditionally
runaway brides back then). The veil was used torepresented by an old garter which would be
"confuse" these spirits. To further help the bridegiven to the bride to be, by a happily married
out, bridesmaids were dressed in clothing similar towoman. It was done in the hope that the
the bride's. They were to act as decoys forhappiness would be passed onto the new couple.
these demons.Something new: The happy and prosperous future
When Christianity took over, the veil was changedof the newlyweds.
to represent chastity and modesty. This reallySomething borrowed: This is something lent by
took off in Britain during the 1800s. During somethe bride's family. It is often an item that is highly
Eastern ceremonies, the groom is not allowed tovalued, and that the bride must return after the
remove his wife's veil until after the ceremony.wedding in order to ensure good luck.
Jewish faith took the exact opposite approach. InSomething blue: This is an Israelite tradition. The
some Jewish ceremonies, the groom firstbride would wear a blue ribbon in her hair to
validates that the bride is his intended, beforesymbolize fidelity.
placing the veil over her face.There is one more part to the rhyme that is
The Ringoften omitted:
Wedding rings are probably the oldest weddingAnd a silver sixpence in your shoe: The placement
traditions out there. They can be traced backof money in the bride's shoe was done to ensure
over four thousand years, to the Egyptians.wealth and prosperity in the lives of the new
Ancient Egyptians would make rings out ofcouple. For some reason or another, this portion
twisted pieces of plants. The ring was meant toof the tradition doesn't appear as popular. Perhaps
symbolize a love with no end. Egyptians andthat is why so many couples run into money
Romans both placed the ring on the 4th finger ofproblems?
the female's left hand. This was done out of theSo, when you are consulting the "Ms. Manners" of
belief that there was a vein on the 4th finger thatwedding etiquette, remember, it's mostly just folk
connected directly to the heart. It was called thelore. Just be sure to bring the ring.