Ever wonder where and why some of the traditions we follow are so important and how the customs originated. Here is history behind some of the traditions and customs.

WEDDING MONTH HOROSCOPE

Marry when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, you wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April if you can, joy for maiden and for man.
Marry in the month of May, you will romance the day.
Marry when June roses grow and over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed must labor for their daily bread.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.
Marry in September's shine so that your life is rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember!
When December's snows fall fast, marry and your love will last.
 

PARENT'S DANCES PROTOCOL

Ancient Customs and Laws

Most rituals are society's unwritten permission for civilized man to express primitive emotions such as fear, sexuality and grief. For example, fragile objects were broken to show loss of virginity and also to indicate who is the person of authority. Ladies in ancient Greece computed their age from the day of their marriage, not from the day of their birth. In 1547, there was a law established that if a woman married and wore nothing but a slip for the wedding ceremony, her husband was free from all responsibilities of any debts which she had owed. In 1775 law stated a young woman could not be married wearing any makeup because makeup was considered an entrapment. The wedding would not be legitimate because of the unreal illusion of makeup. Now here's the rest of the story
 

Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue,
a Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe

This good luck saying dates back to Victorian times. Something Old represents the link with the bride’s family and the past. Something New represents good fortune and success in the bride’s new life. The wedding gown is often chosen as the new item. Something Borrowed is to remind the bride that friends and family will be there for her when help is needed. Something Blue is the symbol of faithfulness and loyalty. A Silver Sixpence in her Shoe is to wish the bride wealth.
 

Bridal Party

"Marriage by capture" was the most popular form of obtaining a wife in very ancient times. The young man in want of a bride would bring some of his male friends with him to insure successful kidnapping. The young girl would surround herself with her female friends to protect her from captors. Today, these young friends are now the bride's maids. A special friend would stay with the young maiden being pursued. She would protect her night and day. This special privilege is now given as the duties of planning the wedding, showers and parties of the Maid or Matron of Honor. The young man in pursuit of a wife would choose one friend to act as go-between and arranger between the bride's family and himself. He would handle all the financial arrangements concerning the marriage. Today, we know this chosen friend as the best man.
 

Engagement Ring

As civilization changed the marriage by capture to the early business arrangement, an engagement ring was presented at the betrothal as a sign of commitment to the purchase of a bride. Diamonds received their romantic connotation in France when the mistress of King Charles VII of France began wearing diamonds that he had given to her. Hence the diamond engagement ring.
 

Bride's Wardrobe-Trousseaus

The bridal Trousseaus began in France. Trousseaus in French means "little bundle". It refers to the bundle of clothing and linens that the bride took with her to the groom's home. This started the idea of the Hope Chest. The bride's father would make the chest when she was little and the bride would fill it as she grew up.
In earlier times the bride was distinguished from unmarried women by three things she would wear that unmarried women could not wear. They were the ring on her finger, a brooch and a garland on her head. The brooch symbolized her innocence and the garland symbolized happiness and also the dignity of marriage. During the time of the prospective groom's purchase of a bride, the family of the bride would give her a dowry to present to her new husband.
 

Wedding Presents

The earliest form of wedding gifts were not given through showers nor to the bride and groom, but to the father of the kidnapped bride in the ancient mode of marriage by capture.
 

Wedding Gown

Present day bridal dress came about when the new American rich were trying to show off their new found wealth by extravagant display of abundance. Before this time, wedding dresses were not specifically white. They were any color and every color and, for the most part, were made with the idea that the new bride would wear it for all future parties and social functions.
 

Veil and Head Piece

The bridal veil is descendant from two sources. A woman's face that was covered by a veil meant that she was spoken for. A veil was used to disguise the bride so that the evil spirits wishing to harm the vulnerable bridal couple would not recognize her. The idea of the bride wearing a headpiece besides the veil came into fashion when the Princess Eugenie was married to Napoleon and she wore a diamond tiara. The English Princess Augusta followed suit and this idea became a trend which as recently given way to other types of bridal head wear. A young bride always wore her hair long and loose as a sign of her youth and innocence.
 

Giving the Bride Away

Since ancient times, women were considered the slaves of men and a young girl who was to be married was treated as a piece of property. Marriage was a transfer of ownership. Thus, today, this custom is reflected in the bride being given away by her father.
 

Wedding Ring

The ring itself indicated a rope tied to the woman to subdue her. The left hand was selected because the left hand is supposed to be weaker than the right, a further sign of submission. In ancient Rome, coins of the realm has a hole in the center. The Roman groom placed it on his bride's hand symbolizing he now trusted her with his money. A more romantic 19th century reason for wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand was that the fourth finger, left hand supposedly had a vein that led directly to the heart. The circular shape of course represented eternity and consistent love. At the turn of the century, new found American wealth introduced the double ring ceremony to add more splendor to the wedding service and indicating consistent love between both partners.
 

Decorating with Flowers

An abundance of flowers and food at the wedding celebration symbolizes fruitfulness,
which was wished for the new bride and groom.

Wedding Cake

The first wedding cakes originated in Britain. Guests threw wheat at the bride who carried stalks of wheat as her bouquet. The wheat was picked up and eaten. Later bakers decided to use the wheat and make cakes or biscuits. During the Tudor period the cakes became more decorative. Passing portions of the wedding cake through the wedding ring was said to bring good luck in finding a mate if eaten by bachelors and spinsters present at the wedding celebration. By taking a piece of the wedding cake home and placing it under the pillow the spinster would dream and see the person she would wed. It is thought that the sweetness of the cake would build the strength reserves of the bride and groom for an active and productive wedding night. Others say it represents the hope of fertility. More investigation is underway on this one. In the Scandinavian countries, the cake was comprised of small cakes the guests would bring to the bride and groom and were stacked on top of each other to form the wedding cake.
 

Groom's Cake

Clinking Of Glasses

The custom of clinking glasses originated in the Middle Ages when any alcoholic drink was thought to contain actual 'spirits,' such as the 'demon' in 'demon rum, who, when imbibed, inhabited the host's body, causing the imbiber to do things that he would not ordinarily do. Since bells and other sounds were thought to drive spirits away, the clinking of glasses was thought to drive the 'spirits' out of the spirits and thus make it safe to drink.
 

Throwing of Rice

Throwing of seed-bearing plants and grains at the newly married couple was done as a sign of wishing them fertility and fruitfulness in their new life. In American rice is thrown, in France they throw wheat while in Greece they throw nuts and dates.
 

Tossing the Bouquet

In merry ol' England, the Bride used to walk from her shack/hut to the shrine. In her hands she would carry a bouquet consisting of parsley, dill weed, oregano and garlic. The bouquet was deemed to ward off evil spirits while on her way to become wed. As the bouquet captured all the evil spirits, it was no longer needed and she tossed it away. Christianity changed it to good spirits and therefore any maids not married wanted to have that good luck so there became the scramble to obtain the good spirits.
 

Tossing the Garter

Old French wedding nights consisted of public participation where the male attendants helped the bride and groom undress and the young men would fight over the bridal garters as a wedding memento. The bride's garters were then worn by the groomsmen in their hat bands as you would a feather as a sign of winning the garters. Stocking throwing was another custom which very prevalent. After the bride and groom were undressed, they would sit in a bed and the groomsmen and bridesmaids would toss the stockings that the bride and groom had just removed at the bride and groom as they sat in bed. The person that tossed the stocking that landed on either the bride or the groom would be the next to marry. Other thought is to be whether the bride & groom would have a son or daughter born first.
 

Dollar Dance

The Slavic/Balkan region is given the nod for its origin. Guests would bring gifts of coin and present them to the newly married couple of royalty. Lower classes mimicked the tradition giving seed, farm animals, and household goods to add the image of royalty to their ceremony. Spaniards brought this tradition to the "New World" with them and is now part of many cultures in the Americas and Pacific islands.
 

Tying Shoes and Cans to the Bumper

At the ancient marriage of capture, old shoes were thrown at intruders, today a Hindu custom of tying old shoes on going away vehicles is a custom of good luck while cans revert to the ancient theory of driving away evil spirits with noise.
 

Honking Car Horns

Loud noises were said to chase away evil spirits and during the ceremony guests would make loud noises to keep the spirits away during the wedding ceremony and then later while the bridal couple completed the consummation of the relationship. Early Americans expanded this tradition calling it a "shuree" or "charee" which was largely influenced by alcohol consumption and not wanting the party to end.
(Sounds a lot like today, huh?)
 

Honeymoon

The word honeymoon comes from an ancient German tradition, which held that newly married people should drink a special beer (made from honey) for the first month that they were married. Perhaps this was to ensure lots of children would be born, or that the couple would live in happiness. Anyway, "honey" from the special beer, and "moon" because it was for the first month.

Mead, a honey wine, is probably the most ancient of fermented beverages. Its production and ceremonial use may well have begun in the porticoes of the ancient Near East more than eight thousand years ago. Our remote ancestors drank mead and attributed the state of intoxication to the spirit of a god. Mythology states that Thriae are nurses who obtain their inspiration, not from Bacchus the wine-god, but from honey. They are Melissae (origin of the modern day girl's name of Melissa) or honey priestesses, inspired by a honey derived intoxicant.

Another interpretation of the word honeymoon comes from Ireland. In the old days, couples would wed under a full moon and then drink honeyed wine (mead) for a month. Mead was thought to endow those who drank it with fertility and virility, thus it became the traditional drink at medieval banquets, especially weddings. There was also an old superstition that if a couple followed the ritual of drinking from the wedding toast goblet for a month, the bride's parents couldn't spirit her back. It's from this custom, Mi na Meal, or the month of honey, that the word honeymoon is derived from. In more recent centuries, newlyweds drank mead daily in celebration of the first month (or first complete cycle of the moon) of married life, believing that this would ensure the birth of sons.