When my headdress was about to be placed on my stiff-with-hair-spray head, my mother asked for a happily married matron among the women in the family. No one stepped forward; although, quite a few married women were in the room. So, my mother called my aunt who seemed to be the most happily married person around. Something had to be right with that superstition because my marriage has lasted several decades and it seems to be continuing on an even keel. For the happiness to be handed down from generation to generation, the placing of the headdress probably corresponds with the wearing of the garter or something borrowed.
When it comes to weddings, our most superstitious selves surface from the depths of our culture's common conscience. Since I have always considered myself a citizen of the world, it is a good thing that, at the time of my wedding, I did not know about all the wedding superstitions in the world. Otherwise, I would have been a nervous wreck.
The common superstitions we know of--such as the bride having on something blue and something new or the tin cans attached behind the couple's car--are based on the centuries-old beliefs in good or bad luck and chasing away evil spirits.
Avoiding bad luck has always been a major concern. Even the day or the month in which one gets married has a say in a couple's fortune. For example: "Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day," and "Marry on Monday for wealth, on Tuesday for health."
Then, the flowers in the wedding have superstitions attached to them, too; however, the superstition of one region may be at odds with the superstition of another region. In some Middle Eastern cultures, the bride has to carry white Calla Lilies. Yet, lilies in other cultures are associated with death.
Superstitions connected with the wedding attire are plentiful. We all know of the belief that bans the groom from seeing the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. I wonder if toting or holding a red umbrella over a bride, as the Chinese believed, would help evade many an unhappy marriage in the west, and heaven forbid if a bride's dress gets torn before the wedding, for that would mean death.
Before Queen Victoria introduced the white wedding dress, wedding dresses were made in colors and each color had a certain superstition attached to it according to the region. With the exception of the Irish brides, wearing green meant promiscuity due to rolling on green grass, and therefore, bad luck. Then, the bridesmaids' same color and style dresses were thought to chase off evil spirits by confusing them.
The bridal veil has descended from the Roman times to protect the bride by disguising her; however, after a few centuries, the veil has symbolized chastity.
Although most superstitions revolve around the bride, the groom, too, is not exempt from stepping into bad luck and that has been the primary reason for the best man's existence. The best man carries a good luck charm in his pocket and sees to it that the groom arrives to the ceremony before the bride, to avoid bad luck, of course.
During the ceremony, the Jewish groom breaks a glass, and in most cultures, the bride stands to the left of the groom probably to let his right hand to stay free for his sword to defend her. Another job for most grooms is to carry their brides over the threshold of their new home. In its origin, this probably had nothing to do with luck; it was there to avoid the bride's tripping over the threshold in her long gown.
Anything circular is good luck, too. While in my son's wedding unity candles placed in a circle plate signified the union of the two families, some couples circle around the room to unite the families. In Greece, couples circle the altar three times for Holy Trinity; the Sikhs circle six times while rose petals are thrown at them; and Mexican couples are circled or knotted together by a large ring of rosary beads. In Finland, however, no knots are allowed. They are replaced by matches to keep the love burning.
Talking of keeping the love burning, the luckiest part of the wedding has to be the kiss, because it is so romantic. In the olden times, in most cultures, the kiss was deemed to be the only requirement in place of the marriage vows.
Wedding superstitions are too numerous to count one by one, and luckily, they reflect the playful side of us. They are not to be taken seriously but they are there to be enjoyed.
Still, in your weddings and in your life, may good luck be with you always.
This article has been submitted by Joy Cagil in affiliation with http://www.Prye.Com/ which is a site for Wedding Invitations. Joy Cagil is an author in http://www.writing.com.
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