Wedding Superstions
There are a lot of superstitions out there and in light of today being Friday the 13th I thought I would have a look into a few of them.
There are many superstitions around weddings including a superstition around choosing the date for your wedding and although I’m not that superstitious I don’t like to tempt fate;
Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses
Saturday for no luck at all
Married when the year is new, he’ll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you’ll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you’ll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you’ll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bred.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see
Marry in September’s shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
Marry in May and you’ll live to rue the day
The most common superstition is is the rhyme;
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in your shoe
This rhyme came from Victorian times but some of the customs are much older. Something old represents family and friends of the couple who will remain close throughout the marriage, something new represents the couples new life together. Something borrowed should be lent to the couple from the Brides family and should be something of value which will be returned after the wedding to ensure the good luck. Something blue is an old tradition that began in Israel where the bride would style her hair with a blue ribbon, this represents fidelity.
The silver sixpence in your shoe is the lesser known line it was to ensure wealth in the couples married life. A silver sixpence is uncommon so if anyone can get hold of one we would appreciate it as me and Luke could do with some wealth in our life, although some brides use a penny or a silver coin like a 50p.
Bridesmaids And Veil
Bridesmaids were dressed in a similar way to the bride, this originated in Roman times where the bride and bridesmaids look similar so as to out wit bad spirits, this way they would not see which girl was the bride. The bridesmaids were supposed to act as decoys to confuse the evil spirits and protect the bride.
This is the same theory as the veil, which in Roman times acted as a disguise, the veil became popular in Britain in the 19th Century and is now associated with modesty and innocence. The veil has many rituals associated with is, like in some Jewish weddings the groom checks that the bride is the correct woman before placing the veil over her head. Eastern ceremonies keep the bride covered up by her veil until the end of the ceremony, whilst some traditions have the maid of honour place the veil back presenting the bride to her intended at the alter.
Flowers
Flowers are a popular choice for weddings, and there are traditions and superstitions around them as well. Flowers have a symbolic meaning which can be the basis for the choice. For example many people use orange blossom as they represent purity and chastity.
People should steer clear of red and white flowers together as they stand for blood and bandages, azaleas represent temperance; peonies represent shame; : snowdrops represent hope and roses symbolise love.
Different cultures have different meanings for the same flower, like lilies, to some they are associated with death and are unlucky whereas to others they represent majesty.
The groom should choose a flower for his buttonhole which also be included in the bride’s bouquet. This comes from medieval times when a Knight would wear his Lady’s colours to display his love.
On The Way To The Ceremony
As the bride leaves the house for the wedding ceremony, she should take a last look in the mirror for good luck. However, this should be the last look in that mirror as returning to the same mirror will result in bad luck.
Chimney sweep’s are considered to be very lucky (as sung by Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins) so if you see one on the way to a wedding it is particularly prosperous, and many packages can include the hire of a Chimney Sweep to attend your wedding ceremony. It is also lucky to see lambs, toads, spiders, black cats and rainbows on the way to your wedding.
Seeing things like an open grave, a lizard, a pig or hearing a cockerel crow after dawn are bad omens . Monks and nuns are also an omen of bad luck as they are associated with poverty and chastity. They are also thought to show a dependence on charity by the newlyweds.
The weather can be interpreted as an omen as well as quite obviously; bad weather = bad luck, and an unhappy marriage, cloudy skies and weddings are supposed to cause stormy marriage, but some cultures believe the opposite and that it is a good omen. Snow is a good omen as associated with wealth and fertility.
Couples First Purchase
The first partner who purchases a new item after the wedding is said to be the dominant one in the relationship, it’ll be a race between me and Luke though as we both are quick to spend our money. Some brides assert their dominance by by arranging to buy a small item like a pin from the chief bridesmaid straight after the ceremony.
Shoes
Shoes have been involved in a number of customs over the years, the most popular is to tie shoes to the back of the newlyweds’ car, although I don’t think Luke will be impressed having my stilettos banging against his spoiler. This came from the Tudor tradition where guests would throw shoes at the newlywed couple. For some reason it was supposed to be lucky if the couple or the carriage got hit, although I wouldn’t fancy a black eye on my wedding day.
A lesser known tradition is for the bride’s father to give the groom a pair of the bride’s shoes, this symbolises the passing of responsibility for the daughter from her father to her new husband. A variation of this custom is for the groom to tap the bride on the forehead with one of the shoes to assert his dominance.
Most people know about the bride throwing her bouquet over her shoulder, but a lesser known fact was that this came from the bride originally throwing one of her shoes over her shoulder.
Bouquet
As mentioned above the bride is supposed to throw her bouquet over her shoulder and the person who catches it is traditionally supposed to be the next person to marry. I’m sure this has sparked many cat fights between female guests over the years.
Another part of this is for the groom to remove the brides garter and throw this over his shoulder for the unmarried male guests to catch, although I’m sure the men are not so eager to participate in this custom.
The Best Man
Apart from arranging the stag do, it is the best mans duty to keep the groom from bad luck. He must make sure that once the groom sets off for the wedding ceremony he does not return for any reason.
The Best man should also arrange for the groom to have a small mascot, or charm, to carry in his pocket on the wedding day.
Bad news for Steve, as traditionally the Best Man should pay the church minister’s fee, don’t worry Steve we’ll sub you, he should make sure he pays an odd sum to bring luck to the couple.
The term “honeymoon” comes from when a man was said to have captured his bride. The couple would hide away from the bride’s parents before getting married. The couple would stay in hiding for another cycle of the moon after the wedding. During this period they were said to drink honey wine.
Over The Threshold
After the wedding it is traditional for the groom to carry the bride over the main entrance threshold when they enter for the first time. I haven’t been able to find where this originated from but one explanation is that the bride will have bad luck if she falls when entering, and as I am pretty clumsy that is likely. An another theory is that the bride will be unlucky if she steps into her new home with the left foot first. Both mishaps can be avoided by the bride being carried. A third explanation, is that the custom comes from the old Anglo-Saxon tradition of the groom stealing his bride and carrying her off.
Hindu’s have a similar tradition as a new bride is carried by her husband so that she does not touch the threshold when entering her new home.
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