I love weddings, don’t you? Whenever I spot a wedding, I watch in fascination, trying to pick out all the ancient customs that are still alive today. Okay, so I am not normal and weddings are not about romance in my mind. They are a binding contract that, as age and treachery have taught me, don’t mean diddles in the greater scheme of things. Yet, the whole notion of binding yourself to one person for life can be tragically romantic in the right frame of mind (usually acquired with a glass of two of whiskey).
Here are some of my own, personal favorite wedding customs that are steep in ancient customs and beliefs.
1. Forget the Rice
Rice is commonly thrown over the bride and groom as they exit the church, but an older custom in some European areas involves throwing coins over the bride and groom. Doing so ensures the wealth of the couple and brings them good fortune. Throwing a shoe over the exiting couple is also said to bring good luck. Some areas of Europe went as far as to sprinkle new brides with grains of wheat. This ensured her of fertility and many children to come. Among the Slavs, though, it was customary to pour a beer over the head of the groom’s horse. It doesn’t say what this custom hopes to achieve, other than a good buzz to survive the marriage.
2. A Touch of Sugar
Among Greek traditions, it was once customary for brides to tuck a sugar cube into her wedding glove. This, it was believed, would sweeten the marriage. A sugar cube, of course, sounds terrible uncomfortable inside a glove, so some ladies will put just a pinch of loose sugar in each glove to help sweeten up the union. The only downside to this would be the sticky hands afterwards, but that can be quickly remedied with a hand wipe.
3. Lucky Bride Cake
Wedding cake has a lot of superstition surrounding it and on old England and in other parts of Europe, small slices of the cake were passed through the bride’s wedding ring. In some places, the pieces only had to be drawn through once while in other regions, the cake needed to pass through the ring up to nine times. Young women would clamor for these special pieces of cake because they believed that if they tucked one of the pieces under their pillow that night, they would dream of the man who would become their husband.
4. The Bride’s Ring
The Puritans wanted the bride’s ring banished from wedding ceremonies because the custom came from Pagan traditions. The ring symbolically represents a binding of the wife to the husband and, in two ring ceremonies, a full-fledged union and binding between the couple. Thankfully, the Puritans were unsuccessful in their tirade against the wedding ring, likening it to a “ringing of a pig.”
5. From Finger to Heart
Why is the wedding ring worn on the fourth finger? This stems from an ancient belief that a special “artery” or vein ran from that finger to the heart. This, according to belief, made it the most appropriate finger to wear a ring and publicly show a couple’s binding love.
6. Left Hand Office
Why is the left hand charged with the bearing of the wedding ring? Instead of a religious answer, we are faced with the cold hard facts. Most people are born right handed and, for a time, left handers were forced into become right handers. It only makes sense that the ring be worn on the left hand so that it is out of the way when doing work and chores. If the ring was worn on the right hand, it would suffer much damage and it would simply be a nuisance.
7. Give Away Rings
In the time of Queen Elizabeth, it became a custom to give away token rings during a wedding celebration. It was noted in 1589 that gold wire rings, made from three gold wires twisted together, were given out to guests. This, it was believed, would bring good fortune to the guests and joy to the wedded couple. In modern times, plastic rings are used to decorate the guest tables during the wedding feast, although brides will still buy small gifts of jewelry for her bridesmaids.
8. Gifted Coins
In Sweden there was a custom where the bride’s mother and father would each give her a coin. The father gave her a gold coin and she was to place it in her right shoe. Her mother, on the other hand, gave her a silver coin, and the bride would put it in her left shoe. There the coins remained until after she married and for as long as she kept the two coins safe, she would have the love of her parents.
9. Rosemary Sprigs
Thanks to Shakespeare’s Ophelia, most people know that rosemary is for remembrance (memory). In old Europe, it was also noted to be used during two specific events: weddings and funerals. Sprigs of rosemary were worn by wedding guests and were used as strewing herbs inside the church. Bridesmaids would also decorate the bridal bed with sprigs of rosemary to sweeten the scent and to make the memory of that first night together as a married couple a lasting memory.
10. Plucking the Garters
In northern England, bachelors would scurry for the favor of removing the garters from the bride’s legs. The custom was believed to “loosen the virgin zone,” because, gosh, all women are virgins when they go to the altar. Thankfully, this is no longer considered a custom and it is the newly wed husband that removes a single garter from his bride’s leg and then tosses it to the unmarried men for their good fortune and luck with the ladies.
Source:
Brand, J., & Ellis, H. (1849). Observations on the popular antiquities of Great Britain : Chiefly illustrating the origin of our vulgar and provincial customs, ceremonies, and superstitions (A new ed.). London: Bohn.
