 EURO-AMERICAN TRADITIONS
SUPERSTITIONS
Because weddings were such powerful events (ensuring the future of the species, creating political bonds, joining two people together for the rest of their lives, etc) it was very important to scare away evil spirits, and many superstitions evolved around weddings and in particular, brides.
Herbs ward off evil spirits.
Why A Rehearsal Dinner? Parties were held on the wedding eve to chase away the evil spirits. The more noise the better. And, clinking of glasses after a toast scares away the devil who is repelled by the noise.
Tin Cans on the car: To protect the couple form evil spirits while they traveled. Apparently, evil spirits don't like loud noise.
Carrying the bride over the threshold: There seem to be two explanations for this tradition where the groom carries his bride over the threshold when entering the home as a married couple for the first time. The first is to protect the bride from evil spirits that were thought to be lying in wait under the threshold (oh, those pesky evil spirits!) The second explanation relates to Roman times when it was believed that if the bride should stumble when entering the newlywed's home for the first time, it would bring bad luck and harm to their marriage.
Flowers and Veils: The carrying of flowers by the bride has its roots in ancient times when it was believed that strong smelling herbs and spices would ward off and drive away evil spirits, bad luck and ill health. The Romans believed that jealous demon spirits would try to cast spells on brides on their wedding days. Brides' faces were covered with veils to ward off the devil and other evil spirits. Over the years, the meaning of the veil has changed. Today it reflects modesty, obedience, chastity, youth and virginity.
When rose pedals are thrown before the bride as she walks down the aisle, it is to ward-off evil spirits below the ground and grant fertility.
Wedding party dressing alike: It was believed that if all of a bride's maids dressed alike, evil spirits would not be able to tell exactly who was being married and could not put an evil curse on the couple.
Why The Groom Can't See The Bride On Their Wedding Day: The bad luck omen of the groom seeing the bride on their wedding day is a holdover from primitive seclusion rites, which stipulated that nobody should see a betrothed girl before she has passed fully into womanhood.
If an English bride passed a chimney sweep on her way to the church, and the chimney sweep kissed her, it was considered good luck. In England, the bride wouldn't allow her married name to be used before the wedding for it was considered bad luck.
All in all, the bride and groom have been considered pretty lucky by envious guests throughout the centuries. Overzealous guests used to scramble for bits and pieces of the bride's clothing, including her garter, as tokens of luck. This probably evolved into the modern-day tradition of throwing the garter and bouquet to determine the next lucky bride and groom.
We all know that something blue is lucky for the bride, but why a blue garter? This seems to stem from the most noble Order of the Garter, the oldest order of knighthood in Europe. Its regalia includes a collar, a star and an actual blue velvet garter. Since queens and princesses are the only women invested with the Order, and a bride is a "queen for the day", she may enjoy royal prerogatives by wearing a blue garter below her left knee. Throwing the garter began in France when pieces of the bridal attire were considered lucky. The bride would throw the garter to the guests at the wedding and whoever caught it could expect good luck. As for wearing something borrowed, which has already been worn by a happy bride at her wedding, the item is meant to be borrowed from another woman happily married so that some of her happiness and luck will transfer to the bride.
A Lucky Sixpence In Shoe: Ensure a life of fortune. The sixpence first became known as a lucky coin when introduced by Edward VI of England in 1551 and later became part of bridal wedding traditions in the Victorian era.
Why The Bride's Handkerchief? Early farmers thought a bride's wedding tears were lucky and brought them rain for their crops. Later on in history, a crying bride meant she would never shed another tear about her marriage.
The Wedding Cake was originally lots of little wheat cakes that were broken over the Bride's head to bring good luck and fertility. The tiered wedding cake symbolizes prosperity. In Anglo-Saxon times guests brought little cakes to the wedding and piled them into a heap over which the wedding couple would try to kiss. This was later turned into a tiered cake in France.
[Fertility, Wealth and Flowers]
[World Traditions and Traditions of Eastern Ontario] [World Traditions 2]
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