By Emilie Cassan
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
We have all heard this traditional list of necessities for all brides-to-be. But who decided that she needs all those things?
And what about all those other things we must do, have and wear in order to have a socially acceptable courtship and wedding?
I mean, why the big, gaudy diamond just to say you are engaged to be married? Why the fancy, white dress? And who decided we have to stand in a line for four hours with the groom on the left and the bride on the right with bridesmaids and groomsmen at the reception (of course with the lovely ambiance provided by basketball hoops and everything else that comes with the church gymnasium)?
All of these traditions have become an important part of American weddings (well, maybe not that part about the basketball hoop ambiance). But many times, we adhere to these traditions because, well, it''s tradition.
In reality, we don''t have a clue why we do them.
With the season of love and twitterpation coming upon us, I decided to get down to the bottom of this wedding tradition stuff and find out why in the world we do these things.
There are so many wedding traditions that they could probably fill up multiple editions of The Daily Universe. But since they wouldn''t let me devote an entire edition to the topic, I will have to be content with sharing only a few of the fun facts I found on wedding traditions.
Something old, something new...
I''ll begin with the rhyme I mentioned at first.
The actual saying does not end with the word 'blue' as most of us may think. The complete rhyme goes as follows: 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe.'
The 'something old' is worn to represent a link between the bride''s family and the past.
'Something new' represents optimism and good fortune in the bride''s new life.
'Something borrowed' represents future happiness and the ongoing support of family and friends.
If you remember from seminary or Sunday school, in the Old Testament, blue represents purity. 'Something blue' represents purity, modesty, fidelity and love.
And the silver sixpence, at first, was given to the bride by her future husband. Now, it is more common for the father of the bride to put the sixpence in his daughter''s shoe to wish her wealth.
The white wedding dress
Before Anne of Brittany decided she wanted to stand out by wearing a bright white gown at her wedding in 1499, brides just wore their best dress to the wedding. But after the village girls saw Anne''s dress, (you know girls) they had to have one just like it.
An interesting fact is that white is not used as a symbol of purity (remember, that''s blue), but as a symbol of joy.
The diamond engagement ring
In A.D. 860, Pope Nicholas I decided that an engagement ring be required for couples planning to be married. He also required that it be made of gold to show a sacrifice on the part of the future husband.
The diamond became popular in 1477 when King Maximillian gave Mary of Burgundy a diamond ring as a sign of his love.
The tradition also has its roots in Italy, where people believed the diamond was created in the flames of love.
The ring finger
The wedding ring has been worn on the index finger and even on the thumb. But the Greeks and Romans changed it to the third finger because they believed there was a vein called the 'vein of love' that ran from that finger directly to the heart.
Groom on the left, bride on the right
Back in the day, marriages didn''t necessarily take place the way they do today. In fact, sometimes the groom couldn''t find any single woman or women worth his time in his own neighborhood. So he would travel to the next and capture his bride.
Thus, she was placed on his left side so he could use his right hand to fight off anyone who might try to oppose the marriage.
The best man
When these grooms decided to kidnap their future wives, they didn''t attempt the feat alone. They employed a 'warrior-friend,' also known as the best man, to help them fight off anyone who might try to capture the bride and to hide the newlyweds from the bride''s family.
Groomsmen and bridesmaids
The groomsmen also assisted in the capture of the bride. Their responsibility consisted of making sure the bride arrived to the wedding on time and that she arrived safely to the groom''s place afterwards. The bridesmaids were women who accompanied and helped the bride.
Honeymoon
Because the groom had just kidnapped the bride, they would have to go into hiding. Thus was born the honeymoon. The couple would remain in hiding until the bride was pregnant. That way the bride''s family couldn''t break things up.
Wedding
You''ll never believe this, but even the word 'wedding' has a history. The root of the word wedding means 'to gamble' or 'to wager.' This goes back to the day when grooms had to pay the father (you know, money, goods, cows) for the hand of his daughter.