Thursday, May 15, 2014

Strange American Wedding Traditions and Their Origins


Weddings are a very important tradition in most cultures around the world. Every culture has their own certain spin on the ceremonies, and America sure has some weird ones. The next eight bullet points are some of the most well-known American wedding traditions and why they are the way they are.

1. Wearing White




This tradition is probably the most well known: The bride is supposed to be wearing a white gown, granted that it is her first wedding. This tradition started with Queen Victoria who wore a white wedding gown to her wedding back in 1840. Before she started this trend, brides typically wore whatever color they wanted.

 

2. Not Seeing The Bride Before The Wedding


      The night before a wedding the groom and bride are supposedly not supposed to see each other because if they do, it’ll be bad luck. This superstition dates back to the time of arranged marriages, where people feared if the bride and   groom saw each other before the wedding, they would change their minds about getting married.


 3. Throwing Rice


As couples walk out of the service, people are encouraged to throw rice in the air to celebrate. It is not entirely certain where this tradition came from, though some believe it came from the pagans. Many believed that throwing rice was a symbol of wishing the newlyweds a fruitful and prosperous marriage.







4. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue


Every bride is told to wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” This tradition is symbolic.  Wearing ‘something old’ is used to symbolize the bride’s past, while the ‘something new’ is used to symbolize the new life she is starting with her groom. The ‘something borrowed’ is usually borrowed from a person who is having a happy and prosperous marriage as a sort of good luck charm. Finally, the color blue is used to symbolize fidelity and love.



 5. Carrying The Bride Over The Threshold



The groom is supposed to carry the bride over the threshold    of their new home. This tradition started back in medieval Europe, where it was believed that women were vulnerable to evil spirits within the soles of their feet. To avoid bringing evil spirits into the home, the groom carried the bride over the threshold.


6. Bouquet Toss


      During the wedding reception the bride is supposed to throw her bouquet into a sea of single ladies, and the one who catches it is supposedly the next one to get married. This tradition started off in Europe, where single women would chase at the bride and rip at her dress. Pieces of the dress were considered good luck, but as dresses got more and more expensive brides started throwing things like the bouquet and garter to distract the women.


7. Wearing Rings On The Fourth Finger Of Your Left Hand


Once rings are exchanged during a wedding ceremony, the ring is always placed on the fourth finger of the left hand. This was because before science was able to prove the theory wrong people believed that a vein ran straight from the fourth finger to the heart. Placing a ring on that  finger was supposed to symbolize closeness to the heart and eternal love.


8. Renewing Vows


This tradition became popular back in the 1970s in the United States. Couples renew their vows for one of several reasons:

·         To have the wedding they were never able to

·         For a particularly significant wedding anniversary

·         Because they have just gone through a difficult time in their relationship

·         To have a religious ceremony that they weren’t able to

Couples even go as far as to recreate the entire wedding scene, including buying new wedding rings, hiring a photographer, and buying guest books.


Weddings are certainly a strange event, but it seems like each of its elements had some sort of historical significance to their beings. They may be weird, but at least there is some reason for the madness!

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