LADIES' COLUMN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8551, 17 February 1906, Page 3

LADIES' COLUMN.

TNE FOLKLORE OF THE BRIDESMAID. fioms Curious Suserstitions. In his beck entitled " Folklore of ,Wo«nen," Mr Thistleton-Dyer, says a •contributor to the " Daily News," tells much that will interest women. The book deals with woman's beauty — " Beware of beautiful women as you would of red pepper," 6ays the ungallant Eastern proverl) — woman's dress, woman's eyes, woman's tongue, woman's blushes, woman's tears, indeed, every characteristic. The following extracts deal with the folklore of bridesmaids and brides, and serve to show how the author has acquitted himself: — ." According to a Sussex piece of folklore, a bride, on, her return home from church, is often at once robbed of all the^pin* about her dress by her single friends around her, from the belief that .whoever^possesses one of them will be married _in the course of a year. " Similarly, the Germans have a custom of throwing a bride's shoe among jthe guests at a wedding, the person. jrho succeeds in getting it being considered to have every prospect of a ■peedy marriage; and among the many other customs associated with the bride's, shoe may be mentioned the German practice for the mother of the fcride to strew salt and dill in her shoes prior to her going to the church, repeating at the same time thiß charm :— ' Dill ceari> not from Will, Salt r«lax not.' " It is also customary for both, bride fend bridegroom to strew dill and salt In their shoes as a charm against every kind of malignant influence. "In th* northern counties a bride is expressly warned. 'Be sure when you go to get married that you don't go in Kb one door and out at another, or you will be always unlucky.' "An instance of a similar piece of folklore is recorded by the late Cuth- • berfc Bede in 'Notes and Queries' as bainvg occurred at a wedding that took place in, a Worcestershire village in October 1877. ' "He-tiuis writes: '/The bride and bridegroom at the conclusion of the ceremony left the dhurch by the chancel dooT instead of following tne usual tomtom of walking down the church and •through the nave door. One of the pldearb inhabitants, in mentioning)* this In me. said that it betokened bad luck and thai cmc had never known a like instance but once in her life, when the "married couple went out of the church by the ohanoel door, and the bride was 1 a widow before the twelve months were ANCIENT FUNCTIONS OF THE BRIDESMAID. "There is. too v a widespread notion that when the bride retires her bridesmaids should lay her stockings across the bed, as this act is supposed to guarantee her future prosperity in the marriage state. "Turning to tlte bridesmaids, it appears that as far back as the days of the Anglo-Saxon they attended the bride a$ the wedding ceremony, although in later times they Beem to have escorted' the bridegroom, his friends ' "waiting on the bride. As recently, for instance,' as the: last century this was itihe popular mode of procedure, an illustration of whioh is "given in the |* Collier's Wedding ' z— 1 Two lusty lads, well dressed and strong, ' Btept put ta lead the bride along; . And two young maids of equal size, ' As «oob the bridegroom's hands surprise. i " Instead of being so many graceful brnaments at the marriage ceremony as nowadays, the bridesmaids in days of fcLd had various duties assigned to them —one of their principal tacks having been to dress the bride, when any omisBKra in her toilet was laid to their charge. It was the first bridesmaid's //'fluty, too, to isee that each -of the ' ': bridesmaids was no)fc only provided , with . fc sprig of rosemary, or a floral posy; but had a symbolical ohaplet in her Hand. ■ "A survival of this practice »ariay ptiH be seen in Germany, whereto is customary for the bridesmaids to carry the myrtle wreath — which they have subscribed together to purchase on the 1 unfrfnal ere— -to the house of the Tiride, land to remove it from her head at the dose of the wedding day. After this has been done, the bride is blindfolded, tend the myrtle wreath having been put into Her hand, 6lhe tries to place it on • -itihe head of one of her bridesmaids, as ' Ifchey dance round her, for, in aocordaoce witih an old belief, whoever she browns is sure to be married within a year from that date. THE FIFTTBN COMFORTS OF S MARRIAGE. , , ': :•• Again much importance was formr- ferly attached to the colours which the bride wore on. her wedding, day. In '-' ton old book entitled ' The Fifteen Comforts of Marriage 'a bride and her bridesmaids are represented conversing together^respecting the colours to be tused far" the decoration of the bridal ; dress. It was ' finally decided after '• various- colours bad been rejected 'to /mingle • gold tissue with grass green,' this combination being consideired symbopcal of youth and jollity. . " In Scotland the bridesmaid is popui larly known as the ' best maid,' and in past years one of her principal duties was to carry the bride's presents on the Wedding day to her future home. The first ayticle generally taken into the house was a vessel of ealt, a portion or which was sprinkled over the floor, as a protection against the malignant influence of the 'evil eye.' And Mr "W. CSt<eg6r, describing an old Scotch weddirig, tells us the bridesmaid's position ' was not unattended with certain risks. " After tno church had been'opened, the beadle or bellman was in attendano» to lead the bridegroom to the, bridal steel-r-that is, the pew thSat was set apart for the use of those ivho were to be married. .The bride wa» now led forth and placed beside him, and great - care .was used to have her placed at the proper side. To have placed her improperly would have been unlucky in the extreme. Next to the bride stood her '-: -■•' beet ihaid,' t^is office, though acoount- - • edan honour, not being unattended with risk. Three times a bridesmaid was the inevitable prelude of remaining unmarried. ' > ■■ ' ■ ■ "Lastly, it was one of the duties of the bridesmaid to remind the bride of guarding against certain omens which were supposed to be attended with fatal results. : In making a wedding trip, for instance, she was enjoined 'to be sure and always go up against the stream, as it was most uncanny to go down the ': ■ ' ..''■ : A. SPELL TO GAIN A HUSBAND. "0n» of the most interesting antiquities of Jabow Church, Northumberland, is the chair of the Venerable Bede, kept to the vestry, whither : brides, conducted by their bridesmaids, •tionoe repair, after the marriage service/to mat themselves upon it. J Aooording to the general belief, thi^t act >U1 in dae time make them the joyous mother* of' children, and no wedding ceremony is considered complete until the bride has been duly enthroned. "But, on the other hand, in past I ' years every precaution was taken to prevent a bride sitting down on the left at the gateway of the entranoe to Groat Yarmouth Parish Church—-popu-larly designated the ' Devil's Seat'— «s»ach an act, it was said, would, in days to follow render her specially - liable to misfortune. , . V According to another popular item «f foikiore, if a hone, stood and looked

through a gateway or along a road where a bride or bridegroom dwelt, it was considered to be a bad omen for that future couple."