Have you ever attended a wedding and wondered what each part of the ceremony symbolized or stood for? There are certain things done that are supposed to bring the bride and groom good luck in their new life together, I call these superstitions.
Let me show you what I mean.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”, is an old saying that dates back to the Victorian era. The “something old” represents the bond to the bride’s family and her old life; “something new” represents the couple’s new life together and their future hope for happiness, prosperity and success; “something borrowed” from a happily married woman is meant to impart similar happiness to the bride; and “something blue” represents fidelity and constancy.
Another superstition is the bride wearing a white wedding dress. This supposedly is a sign of virginity and purity, but was also believed to ward off evil spirits. Throwing rice at the newlyweds was felt to bring fertility to the couple. The kiss was felt to help strengthen the couple’s commitment to each other.
There are even wedding superstitions associated with jewelry worn by the bride. It was considered bad luck for the bride to wear pearls on the day of her wedding because pearls were felt to represent future tears, which meant a marriage filled with tears and heartache. There is also a superstition related to dropping the wedding ring during the ceremony. It was said that whoever dropped the wedding ring during the ceremony would be the first person to die.
Did you know that there were also wedding superstitions associated with the weather and the time of day that the wedding ceremony be held? It was said that rain on the day of the wedding was bad luck as it represented the many tears that the bride will cry throughout her marriage life. But, the bride shedding tears on the day of her wedding was seen as good luck, that her tears would bring rain for the crops.
It was also seen as good luck if the exchanging of vows took place as the clock’s minute hand was moving up, such as 3:30 or 3:45. The upward movement of the minute hand was believed to bring blessings as the minute hand moved upwards closer to heaven. It was also considered unlucky if the man you were marrying had the same first letter of his last name as you. There was an old rhyme that went along with this superstition. It was “to change the name and not the letter, means change for the worst and not for the better”.
It might be interesting for you to sit down with your grandmother one day and ask if there were any other superstitions from when she got married that she can share with you.