In many ways, weddings have always had a certain superstitious element attached to them. Aside from the union of two people blending into one, there are the various cultures worldwide that not only incorporate their own religious aspects but also interweave them with regional and local customs wherever they reside. This post is going to revolve around the Western, Christian wedding traditions, mostly, but each religion and location has its own fascinating ways of doing things, with equally fascinating stories behind how they came to be.
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The White Wedding Dress
It’s probably fair to say that anyone living in a Western country who thinks of a wedding will very likely conjure up images of the bride walking down the aisle in the white wedding dress that has become synonymous with a traditional wedding. This is arguably the most common of the wedding superstitions we will discuss, but actually has its roots not that long ago. The tradition of wearing a white wedding dress was popularized by Queen Victoria in 1840 and quickly became associated with feelings of purity and good fortune. Before this time, it was common for a bride to wear pretty much any color they chose (which was often based on whatever they owned). While white was sometimes worn, it wasn’t for the reasons that we attach to it today. However, since 1840, it has almost become forbidden to wear anything else, let alone a dress of another color. While attitudes are slowly changing and younger brides are eschewing this tradition for less formalities and more individualism, it remains a hallmark of the modern wedding ceremony.
The Veil
Veils have been worn through millennia and by brides in all sorts of cultures for similar reasons…to ward off evil spirits jealous of their happiness. In modern times, the veils might have lost this use, but many still wear one for both reasons of tradition as well as to hide their beauty before they reveal their face to their soon-to-be spouse. Just as with the white dress, though, they are becoming slightly less common. For many women of modern sensitivities, they have too much baggage attached to them in terms of modesty and obedience to a partner. As such, more and more women are choosing to perhaps remain with the traditional wedding dres, but skip the veil in order to blend tradition with modernity.
Wedding Rings
The wedding ring is another item associated with weddings and matrimony, but one that most people simply take at face value. After all, you can see your parents wear rings, theirs before ehm, and so on ad infinitum. It just seems to be part and parcel of getting married. But if you take a little look back at the history of the wedding ring, you will see a fascinating past emerge. Wedding rings, used since ancient Egypt, symbolize eternal love and unending devotion. The placement on the fourth finger of the left hand stems from the Roman belief in the “vena amoris,” a vein thought to connect directly to the heart. Losing or breaking a ring was seen as an omen of doom and something that was to be avoided at all costs (a bit like breaking a mirror would give you seven years of bad luck and so on). Nowadays, it has become an integral aspect of the wedding and is seen as a way to join people together and to have an heirloom that can be passed down throughout generations.
Avoiding The Groom Seeing The Bride Before The Ceremony
We’ve all been to a wedding, or at least seen it in a movie, the hectic attempts at keeping the groom from seeing the bride before the event, but where does this ever-so-slightly peculiar superstition derive from? Well, the history of this superstition is slightly less appealing than some of the others on this list, but whether you like it or not, it has become par for the course. This superstition dates back to medieval times when most weddings were arranged. To avoid the groom from seeing his bride-to-be and choosing to back out at the last moment, strict societal rules were put in place to stop them from seeing each other too early! Obviously, this isn’t the reason these days, but if you take it at face value, it remains a fun little tradition that keeps history alive.
Throwing Rice Or Confetti
Throwing confetti usually consists of heading down to your local wedding store and purchasing a bag of biodegradable confetti that you can throw without worrying about birds exploding (which turns out to be a myth unto itself) or littering the wedding venue. As with all the superstitions on this list, this one dates back centuries to a time when throwing rice was a way to offer good luck in happiness, health, wealth, and, of course, fertility. In some cultures, it was believed that appeasing spirits or distracting them from the couple would bring good fortune.
Carrying The Bride Over The Threshold
Here we have yet another act that has seemingly fun connotations these days, but was based on a genuine fear of bad luck and evil spirits back in the day (back in the day being many centuries ago). In medieval Europe, it was believed that evil spirits could enter the bride through the soles of her feet, or that her tripping would bring bad luck to the couple. Carrying her over the threshold protected her and ensured a smooth start to married life. Today, it is looked on more as a romantic gesture rather than one to ward off the evil that might infest a marriage before it has even had the chance to be consummated.
Avoiding Certain Dates Or Times
If you examine any culture around the world, regardless of its religion, you will find various superstitions that dictate dates believed to result in a happier marriage and dates that are more likely to cause friction and issues. Various cultures avoid specific dates for weddings due to superstitions. For example, in Western traditions, marrying on Friday the 13th or during a full moon was once considered an unlucky occurrence. In Chinese culture, numerology and lunar calendars dictate auspicious dates for harmony. Some seeds of these superstitions are easy to trace back, while others remain a mystery and will remain so forever.
Weddings are events that are cause for celebration where two people who are deeply in love have chosen to join hands and hearts, hopefully forever. However, many are entrenched in traditions and superstitions that date back anywhere from a few hundred years to millennia.
