Popular Wedding Traditions

In any country or culture, there are a host of wedding traditions that a couple is expected to follow. We normally just take it for granted that these traditions should be a part of the ceremony. Yet have you ever taken a step back and thought about the origins of these wedding traditions? Have you ever wondered how they came into existence and became the standard for weddings? Well, wonder no more. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular wedding traditions and their origins.

Of course, a disclaimer is needed before we go on. These traditions are mainly from the western concept of weddings. There are simply too many different cultures and tradition in the whole world to cover them in one post. Anyhow, read on.

Before the wedding itself, one important event is the bridal shower. Though not everyone holds a bridal shower it is quite a common custom. The bridal shower is, obviously, held for the bride before she gets married. Usually, her friends are the ones who organize this and give her gifts. So where does this custom come from? Story has it that in the 1800s, a poor miller fell in love with a rich girl and they wanted to get married. The girl’s father, however, was totally against the idea and refused to pay a dowry for his daughter. In those days, if the girl cannot provide a dowry, she cannot marry. As such, the girl’s friends organized a “party” to “shower” her with gifts so that she could have a dowry.

How about the age old saying that a bride should have “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?” No one knows exactly where this tradition originated from. However, we do know that the “old” thing symbolizes wisdom for married life, passed on by the mother to the daughter. The “new” thing symbolizes the family that is being established. The “borrowed” thing has to come from a happily married woman so that she can share some of her marital bliss to the new couple. Last, the “blue” thing can either be from the wardrobe of ancient Roman maidens who wore robes with borders or blue to symbolize love, fidelity, and modesty or from the purity of the Virgin Mary.

Another wedding tradition that is observed in most weddings is the tying of the knot. The idea stems from the ancient Roman times when the bride had to wear a girdle which was tied into many knots. It was then the groom’s duty to untie these knots.

How about the word honeymoon? Again, it arose in the old times when the custom was for couples to get married beneath a full moon and drink honey wine for 30 days for good luck.

As you can see, many of what we consider “normal” wedding customs have obscure or even silly origins. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that we’d rather stick with these customs for tradition’s sake. On the flip side of the coin, you are not obliged to keep with the customs if you do not wish to do so.
[tags]weddings, traditions, customs, honeymoon[/tags]