The
origin of the wedding veil is unclear but it is thought that
it predates the wedding dress by centuries. One explanation
is that it is a relic of the days when a groom would throw
a blanket over the head of the woman of his choice when he
captured her and carted her off. Another explanation is that
during the times of arranged marriages, the bride's face was
covered until the groom was committed to her at the ceremony
- so it would be too late for him to run off if he didn't
like the look of her! It is also thought that the veil was
worn to protect the bride from evil spirits that would be
floating around on her wedding day.
These origins have all evolved into the tradition that the veil covers the bride's face throughout the ceremony until
the minister pronounces the couple man and wife - although
today, the veil is often lifted by the bride's father when
the bride arrives at the alter.
A
bride's engagement ring and wedding ring are traditionally worn
on the third finger of the left hand (the finger next to your
little finger). Although there is no precise evidence to explain
the origin of this tradition, there are two strongly held beliefs.
The first, dating back to the 17th century, is that during a
Christian wedding the priest arrived at the forth finger (counting
the thumb) after touching the three fingers on the left hand
'...in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost'.
The second belief refers to an Egyptian belief that the ring
finger follows the vena amoris, that is, the vein of
love that runs directly to the heart.
During
the marriage ceremony, the bride stands on the left and the
groom on the right. The origin of this goes back to the days
when a groom would capture his bride by kidnapping her. If the
groom had to fight off other men who also wanted her as their
bride, he would hold his bride-to-be with his left hand allowing
his right hand to be free to use his sword.
The
right of every women to propose on 29th February each leap year,
goes back many hundreds of years to when the leap year day had
no recognition in English law (the day was 'lept over' and ignored,
hence the term 'leap year'). It was considered, therefore, that
as the day had no legal status, it was reasonable to assume
that traditions also had no status. Consequently, women who
were concerned about being 'left on the shelf' took advantage
of this anomoly and proposed to the man they wished to marry.It
was also thought that since the leap year day corrected the
discrepancy between the calendar year of 365 days and the time
taken for the Earth to complete one orbit of the sun (365 days
and 6 hours), it was an opportunity for women to correct a tradition
that was one-sided and unjust. For those wishing to take advantage
of this ancient tradition, you will only have to wait until
Sunday 29th February 2004.
The
origin of throwing confetti
over newly weds predated Christ since it originates from the
ancient Pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain
to wish upon them a 'fruitful' union. Pagans believed that the
fertility of the seeds would be transferred to the couple on
whom they fell. The throwing of rice has the same symbolic meaning.
The word confetti has the same root as the word 'confectionery'
in Italian and was used to describe 'sweetmeats' that is, grain
and nuts coated in sugar that were thrown over newly weds for
the same Pagan reason. In recent years, small pieces of coloured
paper have replaced sweetmeats, grain and nuts as an inexpensive
substitute but the use of the word confetti has remained. Confetti
is now available in a wide range of colours and designs to match
you wedding theme. Despite the longevity of this tradition,
it is on the verge of extinction because the throwing of confetti
is not permitted at most register offices and churches due to
the mess it makes. However, the tradition may survive with the
recent introduction of wedding
bubbles, which provides an environmentally safe alternative.
The tradition of tying shoes to the bumper of the newly wed's
car has various believed origins ranging from the times of
marriage by capture, with the bride's father throwing his
shoe in anger at the escaping groom and his stolen bride to
the notion that leather had the quality to protect against
evil spirits and the tying of shoes to the back of the newly
wed's transport would deter them from interference. Another
belief is that shoes symbolise fertility (hence why Mother
Goose's little old woman lived in a shoe).
The
exchange or throwing of shoes once symbolised the fulfilment
of a bargain, which, in the case of marriage, transferred
the father's authority over the bride to her new husband.
The Bride's father would give the groom one of her old shoes
and the groom would tap the bride over the head with it, symbolising
the acceptance of his new authority.
It
was also considered to bring good luck to the bride and groom
if their guests threw shoes at them, although one can only
hope that their aims weren't too accurate. If the bride throws
her shoe, it was thought that the one to catch it would be
the next to marry, rather like the throwing of the bouquet.
Finally, it was also considered lucky to get married in a
pair of old shoes.
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