Something Old, Something New...
by Dr. ALEC GILL MBE
WEDDING SUPERSTITIONS
The word 'Bride' is from St.Bridget. She was the Christian version of the Irish Goddess of Fertility called Brid.
'WED' is from the Anglo-Saxon word 'Pledge'.
'Happy is the bride the sun shines upon' - a good omen for marital joy. Is this why
summer-time weddings are so popular?
WEDDING DRESS: Practically every item of clothing has a sacred significance. A well-known wedding verse goes:
"Something old / Something new,
Something borrowed / Something blue."
The set of superstitions which underlie this ditty are:
Something old = shoes, handkerchief, grandmother's ring.
Something new = white dress for purity, innocence and simplicity. Dress must not
have a bird design on it.
Something borrowed = from an older woman in the family who has a happy marriage -
thus continuity of joyful union and family links. When H.M. The Queen married in November
1947, she borrowed her mother's diamond tiara.
Something blue = sky blue for the colour of Heaven. Blueness = Trueness = Happiness.
This item is often the garter which the bride has to wear on her left leg. In Pickering
(Yorkshire), after the ceremony, youths race from the church porch to the
bride's home. The winner was then allowed to remove the garter from the bride's
leg. He then placed it on his own sweet-heart's leg as a love charm against
unfaithfulness.
COLOUR MAGIC Red / Green are unlucky colours at weddings.
Married in white, you have chosen right.
Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in grey, you'll go far away.
Married in red, you'll wish yourself dead.
Married in blue, your love will be true.
Married in yellow, you're ashamed of your fellow.
Married in black, you'll wish yourself back.
Married in pink, your spirits will sink.
Married in brown, you'll live out of town.
Married in pearl and you'll live in a whirl.
 | A POSTPONED wedding is a bad omen. |
| FRIDAY 13th avoided - Hull Registry Office weddings drop dramatically on that date. A typical Friday = a dozen weddings, but on Fri.13th they drop to 2 or 3. |
| THE GROOM figures very little in these bride-centred taboos. Indeed, he is excluded from seeing the bride before she arrives at the church. Even then, he must not look back over his shoulder to watch her coming up the aisle. |
| HOUSEHOLD CAT - A single sneeze by the family feline on the wedding day is a good sign for the bride. Should this rare event fail to happen the bride would have fair weather if she fed the cat well just before leaving for the church. |
| LUCKY CHARM - the horseshoe is a favourite talisman. |
| CHIMNEY SWEEP - it is lucky to get a kiss from a sweep. Princess Elizabeth was given a sooty handshake outside Kensington Palace before she got married. Lucky to meet a black man anywhere. |
| BRIDESMAID ROLE - "Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride". Their role is to protect the bride from evil forces. Therefore, if a maid is exposed three times to the harmful spirits, then she will not herself be pure to marry. Unless, that is, she goes on to perform this role for a total of seven times - then she is safe to marry! |
| WEDDING VEIL - Similarly, the veil acts as a protection from evil until she is safely married and under the protection of her husband. She is vulnerable because this is a critical 'in-between time'. That is, between maiden and womanhood, virgin and motherhood. |
| BRIDE'S GUESTS must sit on left-hand side of the church. |
| It is not a superstition, but tradition, that the bride's father gives her away to her husband. This stems from the days when women were 'objects' to be exchanged between the men. |
| TEARS - Bride must give a little tear to ensure a happy marriage especially as the groom raises the veil to give her the first kiss as his wife. It is also a good omen if a baby cries during the service. |
| BAND OF GOLD - the wedding ring is symbolic of endless love. If she has to help him place the ring on her finger, then she will be the boss in the marriage. In UK/USA the ring is worn on the third finger of the left hand. In Europe, it is the right hand. |
| MAIDEN NAME - "To change the name, but not the letter / Is to marry for worse, and not for better" (e.g., Jones marries Jarvis). |
| TOSSING THE BOUQUET - symbol of fruitfulness. Prior to flowers, a bride carried ears of corn. The girl who catches the bouquet will be the next bride. |
| CONFETTI - was originally wheat, rice or salt which was thrown on any occasion for luck (over King Henry VII in 1486; a new ship - but especially at weddings even in Roman times). Italian confetti from Sweetmeats = comfit linked with confectionery. |
| WEDDING GIFTS = fertility and abundance. Originally bread and salt were given as gifts. German bride given nuts = thus the phrase 'go nutting'. |
| WEDDING CAKE: The bride must make the first incision and make a silent wish at the same time. If young ladies at the wedding want to dream that night about the man they will themselves marry, they sleep with a piece of the cake under their pillow. The married couple keep some of their wedding cake for their first christening. |
| BEST MAN and groomsmen are a relic of the time when enemies attacked a wedding to carry off the bride. It was their duty to guard against such uninvited guests. |
| WEDDING GUESTS - must leave the reception by the same door they entered. |
| SLIPPERS / BOOTS tied behind honeymoon carriage are symbolic of the womb and fertility "There was an Old Woman who lived in a Shoe - this rhyme is about having lots of children". |
| BAVARIAN BRIDES sometimes give their new husband a tiny compass so that he will never stray from the true path. |
| HONEYMOON - the word is from the Teutonic custom whereby the wedding was celebrated for 30 days after the wedding by drinking mead made from honey. |
| THRESHOLD: Bride carried over the Threshold: |
| (a) In Roman times this was to show that she lost her virginity unwillingly; |
| (b) Nowadays, whoever is the first to set foot in the new home will rule within the marriage. Thus, if the man carries the bride, this ensures he will be the one to first-foot. But is it true? Did you get carried over the threshold? |