A Brief Survey of Wedding Customs

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By: Fabian Toulouse

For as long as the custom of marriage has been a celebrated human custom, there have been curious rituals associated with them. These rituals, at least concerning modern weddings, include such behavior as the groom providing an engagement ring, the bride carrying a handkerchief, wearing a veil, and wearing "something blue." Even the very custom of the bride wearing white seems outdated to most modern couples. Where did all these traditions come from?

Before the wedding ever takes place the couple usually enjoys a period of engagement. The groom-to-be usually gives the woman an engagement ring. This custom seems to have begun when wives were considered to be a step above cattle. The engagement ring was in fact a form of partial payment for the bride. And curious turn of cultural perception, since they are now considered symbols of love and fidelity.

Brides usually carry some kind of handkerchief with them during a conventional wedding ceremony. Tears of joy have long been seen as signs of luck, especially for agrarian cultures and farmers who thought that foretold the coming of rain. One superstition maintained that if a bride cried at her wedding that she would never cry during the marriage.

Brides have worn veils since the ancient Greeks and Romans wed. When the veil is lifted toward the end of the wedding ceremony it symbolizes that the woman is giving herself to her husband. The blue garter, on the other hand, is a tradition dating back to ancient Hebrew customs which involved the bride wearing a blue ribbon, symbolizing fidelity. The blue garter is usually slipped from the bride's leg and thrown to the bachelors in the crowd.

The wedding ring with its circular shape has stood for never ending love. This tradition is thought to have started with the ancient Egyptians. The wedding ring has been made from a variety of materials over the years but today it is mainly made of gold. Why the white wedding dress you ask? The color white was once a celebratory color for the Romans.

The custom of giving and exchanging wedding gifts is lost to time. It seems as human and natural as kissing or caring for our young. It has long been a custom to give gifts to the blessed couple. Many gifts are household appliances and goods to start the couple on setting up their new home. Mixers, blenders and toasters have been at the top of the list for years. No matter the customs, weddings are always joyous events.