Did you know engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart? Here are explanations for more wedding traditions:
- Diamonds set in gold or silver became popular as betrothal rings among wealthy Venetians toward the end of the fifteenth century.
- One of history's earliest engagement rings was given to Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VII.
- Queen Victoria started the Western world's white wedding dress trend in 1840 -- before then, brides simply wore their best dress.
- Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since.
- Brides carry or wear "something old" on their wedding day to symbolize continuity with the past; "something new" to represent optimism for the future; "something borrowed" to symbolize borrowed happiness; "something blue" to symbolize purity, fidelity, and love; and a lucky sixpence in their shoe to represent a wish for good fortune and prosperity.
- The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride's head for fertility's sake.
- The custom of tiered cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever-higher cake without knocking it over.
- Princess Victoria established the tradition of playing Wagner's "Bridal Chorus", the traditional wedding processional music, during her wedding processional in 1858.
- The bride stands to the groom's left during the ceremony, because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
- The tradition of decorating the couple's getaway car with writing and a trail of tin cans began as a way deceive evil spirits who might want to destroy the couple's happiness.
0 Yorumlar