MARRIAGE SUPERSTITIONS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XL, Issue 2931, 14 February 1884, Page 3

MARRIAGE SUPERSTITIONS.

It iv not surprising that so important nn event m . human life as marriage should have been surrounded by a hoat of curious superstitions, many of which, indeed, [cause no small anxiety to those about to enter on the nuptial state. Henoj we find cureltil precautions generally taken by the anxious nspirnnt to matrimony, to avoid those imaginary ill-onions to wbich ho muoh valae is often nttaohed. It would be difficult to say, too, how many persons m after life have traced their happiness, or its opposite, to some occurrence connected with the marriage day. Thus, it m considered unfortunate ior a young lady to bo engaged to a man whoße surname commenoeii with the same letter as her own, for, according to a, ;wpulir saying— " To change i;ho nsmo, nnd not tho lottor, Is a cluwg-o f.>r tho vona, t.ud not for Uio V^ttor ;" —ft piece ef superstition found also m Philadelphia, where it haa been probably carried by some of our own countrymen. Among the numerous other thiugii to be epeoially avoided by .candidates jior matrimony may be mentioned tho roading of the \ 4 marriage, servioe V entirely; thiough, aa itj Is «njd tho«» who do ao ft'equently

l- remain unmarried, j The same fate, too, ■c awaits tho lady who completes a patchI work quilt without nsaistance, the l- reason Assigned being that this kind i- of fancy work is generally made a social d occupation, and (hat the person who it thus employs her time must either i, move little m society, or ehe be of an un- ■- social temperament. Then, of course, c there ii a well knorn antipathy to mamn riuges taking place on a Friday, the r couplo who infringe) this rule being c doomed, m tho north of England, to lead fl a cat-and-dog existence. Referring to 3 the days of the week, a modern doggerel c snys that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,' t are all good m different nays for marriage, b that Thursday is almost as unpropitious r as Friday, and that Saturday is i open to no gravo objection. Of tho i seasomi for marrying, there has been from j time immemorial a strong prejudice - against Lent, for " Marry m Lent, and » you'll live to repent," with which may be s compared the popular aversion to Mny i marriages— a piece of superstition as old 1 aa the time of the Romans. Thus we are i "Marry m May and you'll me r fthe day." Tbere is auother old saying, r whicli Bays, " Who marries between the ' siokle nnd the scythe will never thrive;" ) and, according to Brand, " Childermas . Day hns been ot all times a blaok day m the calendar of iru ps.tiimt lovers." Long engagements are not recommended, :or — Happy is tho wooing- j That is not long m doing. Although, on tho oilier hand, too hastj marriages are not c oairable ; for, aa thc adage runs, "Marry m. haste and repenl at loismre." Among the superstitious - that_ havo clustered round the marriage day itself is the popular ono of its being lucky for the eun to 3hine upon the bride. Rain was considerad jnst as unlucky Thus, m an old letter dated July 19th, 1003, it is said— "Mr Winwoud was married on Tuesday, with much thunder, lightning, ancl win. The ominous weather ancl dismal day put togethei might have made a superstitious man startle, but he turned all to the best, and bo may it prove." In many places it ia considered ominous for a bridal couple tv meet it funeral, either m going to or coming from the marriage ceremony, it being an indication ;hat one of them will die before very long. It was formerly regarded, too, eqt.ally unfortunate to meet either a hare, a dog, a cat, or a lizard ; but should a toad or a spider cross the bride's path, tha wao looked upon as a mosl. auspicious onen. In the North of England many of tho peasantry affirm that it is unlucky for swine to crosß tho path m front of a wodding party, whence the old adage, " The swine runs through it." Equally numerous are these omens m Scotland, the iollowing being supposed to be indications of coming trouble : —The bride accidentally breaking a dish, the bird iti a cage dying on the morning of the wedding, a clot of soot falling down the chimney aud spoiling tho breakfast, a dog howling, aud a bird sitting on the window-sill chirpiog for some time. In the same way many superstitions have gathered round the bride, ani ive are told that one of the most unlucky things she can do is to return and loot: m the glass after the toilette is finally arranged for the marriage ceremony. Sho must not, also, have tiny pins about her, for, as Miaaon says m his " Travell "— " Woe to the bride if a single one is left about her ; nothing will go right. Wee, aIBO, to the bridoamaids if they keep one of thero, for they will not be married before Whitsuntide." Randolph, it moy be remembered, m his " Letters," speaking of the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to Lord Darnley, relates how tho Queen, after her marriage went to her chamber to change her ciotlu'S, and " suffured thera that stood by, every man that could approaoh, to take a pin." Again, on no account Bhould green bo worn at a. wedding — one reason assigned being that this is tho fairies' color, and as such must not be used by mortals. Whatevor tha origin of this superstitious fancy may be, there is a deep-rooted prej ud ico against green. In Scotland so much attoution m given to this notion that even kale and othor green vegetables are carefully excluded from the narriage feast, nothing green being permitted to make its appearance on euoh nn occasion. In yciars gone by, too, tho the bride was not allowed to step over the threshold on en :ering the bridegroom'n houso, but waa ltftjd over by her nearest relatives, a practice to which Herrick alludes when he says — ''You, you that be of the nearest kin, Kow o'er the threshold force hor m." At the present day, m some parts of Yorkshire, when a newiy-married couple tirst snter their houss, a hen is brought and made to cackle, as a sign of good luck. In Scotland, ac the young wife approaches her new home, it is customary for one of the oldest inhabitants to staad iv readiness and throw a plateful of short bread over her head, a custom which, under a. variety of forms, extends as far Bouth us the East Riding of Yorkshire. In tho latter locality an wgury is drawn from the fato which attends the plate ; should it roach tho ground unbroken, it iB regarded as ominous ; the more pieces it breaks into the better. Once more, among soma of the numerous other superstitions connected with marriage, it was generally a popular idea thst unless the elder sisteni danced bare-foot at; the marriage of tt youoger one, tbey would inevitably low eveiy chance of boing married, and die old maids. This notion is not yet obsolete, prevailing si ill m the North of Eng. land. From the many divinations often practised on the occasion of a marriagu, it may be gathered that such a seasou portsesseß peculiar Qualifications for peeping into futurity. Thus a piece of the bride cake drawn three times through the wedding ring, and silently placed under the pillow of nn unmarried girl, is said to make her dreanc of her future husband. Foi: the same purpose the bride's frionds frequently secura iionie decoration from her wedding dnjss, and to rub shoulders with the bridegroom m deemed a certain indication of a speedy marriage. Many spots alao m England are visited by bi idul j coupleß desirous o:t knowing thoir future lot m the married state, a noted ouo being St. Koyue's Well — according to tho popular trndition, if the husband drinks at this well before his wife, a happy man he will always be ; but if the wifo drinks first, then gopd-bye to all his happiness.