Some Lore Of Weddings

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31307, 1 March 1967, Page 2

Some Lore Of Weddings

The phrase “tying the knot” is not just twentieth-century slang; it is derived from an old Spanish custom in which the bridegroom’s sash was tied around the newlyweds during the ceremony. When you order your wedding bouquet you will probably choose lilies, or roses, or whatever happens to be your favourite flower. At one time, however, it was the custom for the bride’s bouquet to be a sheaf of wheat Wheat, from which flour comes, is the traditional symbol of harvest and property and was a

token of what the happy couple could hope their union would bring. When the groom carries his new bride over the threshold he is obeying an ancient superstition for her safety. It was once thought that spirits lingered in doorways and carrying the bride past them made her immune to their influence. The heart is one of the * best known of all romantic * symbols and comes from the * circle, which is the Egyptian ! symbol for eternity. Two ! hearts or rings entwined J mean love united, and a r bride’s ring goes on her third ■ finger on the left hand to t establish contact with the i “love vein” which wag be-

lieved to run directly to the heart

Ways of winning a wife differ in various parts of the world. The method used by primitive man of simply sneaking into the camp of another tribe and taking bis future bride by force has died out, but many strange customs still exist in countries less modernised than our own.

In New Guinea it is customary to buy a bride. The price is a string of dog’s teeth, steel axes, five bows, and a pig. For a bride who is an exceptional beauty, an additional gift of rats—a prized delicacy among the natives—is often included. In Zulu tribes it is the bride’s mother who haggles for the “bridal price,” which is usually paid in cattle. Twenty-five head is the figure normally agreed—after a great deal of haggling. As soon as the wedding day is fixed the "bride is fatted up in readiness even if the rest of the family has to go short to make this possible. There is a charming custom at Greek weddings which is carried out after the toasts have been drunk. The newlyweds dance slowly round the room, and as they pass each guest in turn pins a cheque or drachma note to their clothing. In West Africa it is also

customary to give money at a wedding reception. A carpet is laid on the ground and guests throw' silver coins on to it as a final gift to the newly married couple. The size of the mound of coins signifies the popularity of the couple.

The marriage service has not changed greatly over the years. Some of the phrases have, however, been modernised. Today’s bride does not promise to be “buxom and bonny” to her future husband.

In the past it was the custom for the father of the bride to present his new son-in-law with one of the bride’s shoes to signify that authority had been transferred. At the same time the bride was lightly tapped on the head with the shoe. The new husband undertook to treat his wife well, otherwise she was justified in leaving him. He was, , however, given permission to castigate her should it be necessary. It was an old Welsh custom for the bride to receive three blows with a broomstick—on any part of the person except the head—to signify the amount of punishment a husband might inflict. Civil marriages—those held in a registry office and not in a church—were introduced in England in 1836. The fee charged then was £2 14s 7d.