There are many wedding traditions; some are very old while others are more modern than you might believe. But the roots of most wedding traditions are actually incredibly interesting. There are some sticklers to tradition that won't be caught dead sending a bride down the aisle in a black dress, but being wed in white is actually a very modern marriage trend in comparison to most.
Marrying in white only dates back to the Victorian Era, when Queen Victoria herself, wore a white dress, considered to be very bold, not necessarily to flaunt her virtue. Sticking to more traditional and ancient trends, the color blue is a much more realistic option. It dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times and the Virgin Mary is always depicted wearing blue as it is a color of purity, although white also denotes virtue and purity.
For centuries, black was considered a very practical color to get married in for common people, as it doesn't show the dirt. White on the other hand was only for the very wealthy, although a bride may have worn a white veil. Today, many women are getting married in black and other colors again, as they break from Victorian beliefs.
The veil dates back to the annals of history and was not made of tulle, in fact it was more likely to have been a dark color, centuries back. The veil was meant to protect the bride from being stolen by another man who may love her, and protect her beauty from envious eyes. A bride has always been believed to be at her most beautiful on this day.
Speaking of demons in the same sentence as wedding traditions, this is also where bridesmaids and groomsmen play a role. The wedding party as this is called; dates back to ancient Roman times when it was strongly believed that demons might curse the bride and groom. Dressing the groomsmen and bridesmaids would prevent any malevolent demons from knowing who the bridal couple was.
Carrying the bride over the threshold is another ancient Roman tradition, with demons being the bad guys. It appears that they would do everything they could to trip the bride as she crossed the threshold (nothing should spoil her day), and this was not a good omen. I am wondering what it means if the groom trips while he is carrying the bride?
The honeymoon was the 30 days following when a bride was captured from her family and carried off to drink mead, a honey based alcoholic drink, and make merry. Hopefully to return happy and pregnant! This is also where the tradition of the Best Man came about, he was a friend of the groom and he would stall the family until such time as the 30 days was up and they called off the search.
Throwing the garter is a British tradition; it comes from a ritual called "flinging the stocking". After the wedding, guests would invade the bridal chamber to search for stockings, the first guest to hit the bride or groom on the nose with the stocking was said to be the next to marry.
Decorating the bridal carriage with tin cans, and other noise makers, is said to chase away evil spirits. Tying a shoe to the car is an Irish tradition, it should actually be the bride's slipper, and it means the groom is now responsible for her welfare.
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Howard has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in wedding traditions, you can also check out his latest website about:
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