Origins of Wedding Traditions
Where do wedding traditions come from? Many people opt to follow these traditions when planning their wedding. What started these traditions? Many of the traditions we follow today come from folklore and Roman times that have been passed down through the generations. Many have changed over the years since, the origination of the tradition no longer applies in today's society.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
This rhyme started in Victorian times. The “something old” is a symbol of the couple's friends standing by them even after the wedding. “Something new” is a symbol of a bright future for the couple. “Something borrowed” was a token of the bride's family love (and according to tradition, it was to be returned to the family for good luck). “Something blue” was thought to be lucky since, blue represents fidelity and constancy.
Flowers
Flowers have their own meanings for each color and type of flower. In Medieval times, tradition was for the knight to be wearing his lady's colors to declare his love for her. Current tradition is for the Groom to wear a flower that is in the bride's bouquet in his button-hole.
The time and place
Sunday was the most popular day to have a wedding until Puritans put a stop to this in the seventeenth century. They believed it was not proper to be festive on the sabbath. Now it is Saturdays that are the busiest day to have a wedding. The rhyme that used to be used to pick the day was: Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth, Wednesday best of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, Saturday for no luck at all.
Pagan times started the saying of “Marry in the month of May, and you'll live to rue the day”. Pagans dedicated May to Beltane celebrations and sometimes they included orgies to symbolize the god and goddess in essence “courtship”.
Rings
The ring symbolized never ending love. With the ring being a circle and the circle was thought to be never ending and unbreakable. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians believed the third finger (ring finger) led straight to the heart. Dual-ring ceremonies started in Greek Orthodox Churches in the 1300's. It did not catch on in America until World War II, when young men were leaving for the war. It was meant to remind them of the wife at home in hopes to bring them luck to return home.
Food
Today the wedding cake is three tiers and the couple cuts the first piece together to signify their life together. Teired cakes started from a game where the bride and groom attempt to kiss over the cake without knocking it over to bring luck. All the guests at the wedding eats a piece of cake to help ensure the couple has good luck. The wedding cake used to be little wheat cakes that were broken over the bride's head to bring good luck and fertility. Some traditions still have the bride and groom sharing a piece of bread in the wedding ceremony as a symbol of unity.
The church
Walking to the church and from after the wedding was meant for spotting lucky omens along the way. What started the tradition of carrying the bride over the threshold was started so the bride did not trip on her return from the wedding. Tradition also dictated that the new wife must enter the home through the main door.
The veil
Superstition claimed that the veil would protect the bride from evil spirits. Brides would also wear a veil to hide her face when it was an arranged marriage. Modesty is the symbol when a bride wears a veil today. It was also considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride before they were married.
Dresses
Wedding dresses did not start out being fancy like they are today. This did not start until the nineteen hundreds. Brides used to just wear their best dress they owned when they got married. Queen Victoria made the white dress popular when she broke with the tradition of wearing silver. White meant purity and virginity, which was why Queen Victoria decided to break the tradition. White is also thought to ward off evil spirits. Having the bridesmaids wearing fancy dresses was started to confuse evil spirits as to which was the bride.
Candle lighting
Christian faiths started the unity candle. It was meant to symbolize the joining of two souls into one. It was done using two candles, held by each person and lighting one candle.
Other rituals
The kiss came from Roman times where deals were sealed with a kiss. Many cultural traditions think that a kiss is exchanging of souls. The French used to place a piece of toast in the bottom of the goblet and it got passed around until it got to the person who the toast was given and they would drink the goblet dry toast and all. The garter tossing was started in the fourteenth century to signify who would be the next male to marry.
