Carrying A Bride Over The Threshold
The Romans believed that it was unlucky if the bride tripped on
entering
the house for the first time. So they arranged for several members of
the
bridal party to carry her over the threshold. Nowadays the groom is
expected
to do the job himself |
Grey Horses
All the best bridal carriages used to be pulled by grey horses and
it is still considered good luck to see a grey horse on the way to the
church |
Lucky Horse Shoes
Horseshoes have always been lucky. There is a nice story about
the devil asking a blacksmith to shoe his single hoof. When the
blacksmith
recognised his customer he carried out the job as painfully as possible
until the devil roared for mercy. He was released on condition that he
would never enter a place where a horseshoe was displayed. |
Wedding Bells
A peal of bells as the bridal couple leave the church is one of the
oldest traditions. Before the days of widespread literacy and
newspapers
this was how the local people knew a wedding had taken place. The sound
of bells was also said to drive out evil spirits. |
Lucky Chimney Sweep
Brides still consider it fortunate if they pass a chimney-sweep on
the way to the wedding as the old fashioned soot-covered sweep had
magical
associations with the family and hearth - the heart of the home. |
Bridal Wear
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a lucky sixpence in her shoe. |
| The old and the new items link good influences of the
past with the
present. Blue is the color of constancy and of the Virgin Mary. If the
borrowed item has belonged to a happily married woman this will carry
good
luck with it. The sixpence will guarantee enough money through
life. |
| Sew a hair onto the hem of a wedding dress for luck, or
let a drop
of blood fall onto an inner seam. The bride must never try on a
complicated
dress in advance of her wedding day. To facilitate this tradition a
small
section of the hem is left unsewn by the dressmaker until the last
moment. |
Best Foot Forward
The bride, when she leaves home for the last time as a single girl,
should step out of the house with her right foot for luck |
Shoes
Tie an old shoe to the honeymoon car for luck. Anglo Saxon dads always
gave away one of the bride's shoes to the groom who then hit her on the
head with it as a sign that authority had passed from father to husband. |
Looking Ahead
Particular wedding anniversaries have become associated with particular
types of gifts. Although in many cases the choice of gift now has
little connection with the original anniversary present, it's still fun
to look at the full list. |
| 1st |
Cotton |
14th |
Ivory |
| 2nd |
Paper |
15th |
Crystal |
| 3rd |
Leather |
20th |
China |
| 4th |
Fruit, Flowers |
25th |
Silver |
| 5th |
Wood |
30th |
Pearl |
| 6th |
Sugar |
35th |
Coral |
| 7th |
Wool, Copper |
40th |
Ruby |
| 8th |
Bronze, Pottery |
45th |
Sapphire |
| 9th |
Pottery, Willow |
50th |
Gold |
| 10th |
Tin |
55th |
Emerald |
| 11th |
Steel |
60th |
Diamond |
| 12th |
Silk, Linen |
70th |
Platinum |
| 13th |
Lace |
|
|
|