June’s bride
June is a favourite month to get married. "Prosperity to the man and happiness
to the maid when married in June" is an ancient Roman proverb. Even though most
marriages occur in December, the popularity of the saying started the tradition
of June Weddings.
Ancient tradition thought May to be an unlucky month to marry because in Roman
times the Feast of the Dead and the Festival of the Goddess of Chastity both
occurred in May.
For centuries the month of June has been the most popular choice for weddings -
but the original reason might surprise you.
During the 1400-1500s, May was the month in which the "annual bath" occurred.
Yes, just as it sounds, back then people were only able to bathe thoroughly once
each year. As such, the over-all population smelt relatively fresh in June,
making it a good time to hold a special event like a wedding! Further, the month
of June is named after the goddess Juno, who was the Roman counterpart to Hera,
the goddess of the heart and home, and patron of wives.
Traditionally brides have been thought to be particularly vulnerable to evil
spirits. Many wedding customs and traditions originated as an attempt to fight
away such evil. The veil was worn with the belief that it would disguise the
bride and fool the evil spirits. It was not until 1800 in Britain that the veil
came to symbolize modesty and chastity. Today, the veil remains the ultimate
symbol of virginity.
It is held that a final look in the mirror right before the bride leaves her
home for the ceremony will bring good luck. However, if she looks in a mirror
once again before the ceremony, her luck will tarnish to bad
It is believed to be bad luck for the bride to make her own wedding dress and to
wear her complete outfit before the wedding day. Moreover, some brides leave a
final stitch on the dress undone until the day of the wedding for good luck.
"To change the name and not the letter, is to expect the worst and not the
better!" This little riddle conveys the notion that it is thought to be unlucky
to marry a man whose last name begins with the same first letter as your own.
Seeing a lamb, frog, spider, black cat, or rainbows on the way to the ceremony
is believed to be a sign of good luck! Seeing an open grave, pig, or lizard on
the way to the ceremony, or hearing a crow after dawn on the morning of the
wedding are all thought to be omens of bad luck. Catching a glimpse of a monk or
a nun is also thought to be an omen of misfortune because of their association
with poverty and chastity.
Bad weather on the way to the wedding is believed to signify unhappiness in the
marriage. Traditionally it is believed that cloudy skies and wind en route to
the wedding will result in a stormy marriage.
The tradition of tying tin cans to the back of the newlywed's vehicle originated
long ago when items which would produce noise were tied to the back of the
couple's carriage to scare away evil spirits.
The tradition of having members of the wedding party dress alike was started
with the hopes that this would cause confusion for the spirits and send them on
their way.
Tradition says that the first member of the newlywed couple to purchase a new
item following the wedding will be the dominant force in the relationship. As
such, to this day some superstitious brides will pre-arrange to buy a small item
from one of the bridesmaids immediately following the ceremony!
Cakes have played a part of weddings all through history. The Romans shared a
plain cake of flour, salt and water during the wedding ceremony itself, as
Native Americans still do today. The traditional fruit cake originated in
Britain, with the fruit and nuts being a symbol of fertility. Cutting the
wedding cake together, still a predominant ritual at weddings, symbolizes the
couple's unity, their shared future, and their life together as one.
In old England it was traditional to bake a ring into the wedding cake as a
symbol of bliss and happiness. The guest whose piece of cake contained the ring,
it was said, could look forward to a full year of uninterrupted happiness.
Another old English custom was to throw a plate with a piece of wedding cake out
of a window on the occasion of the bride's first return to her family home after
the wedding. If the plate broke she could expect a happy future with her husband
- but if the plate remained intact, prospects for the future became grim.
The custom of throwing rice at the newlywed couple was to symbolize fertility.
In some cultures, it was not rice which was thrown, but rather small cakes or
pieces of a crumbled cake. Today some still throw rice, but more commonly
confetti or rose petals are thrown in place of rice due to a number of practical
and environmental reasons - the symbolism remains the same!
Compiled
by: Express Team
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