Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-01-01
Some Marriage Customs.

In early ages, among Jews, Pagans and
Christians, the practice of crowning the
bride and bride groom with chaplets of
MOWERS was almost universal. Among
the Anglo-Saxons q chaplet of myrtle
was kept in the church for this purpose.
The origin OF the veil Is lost in obscurity
MIR. Jeaffreson thinks that il may be
ascribed to the Hebrew ceremony, or to
the east, whers wells have been worn
from time immemorial; or to the yellow
veil which was worn by the Roman
brides. 1t has not always been looked
upon rs an indispensable adjunct to the
bride in this country. 1t may surprise
my. gentle readers to learn that knives
and daggers were part of the customary
accoutrements of bride, and were COM
monty worn by ladies. The wedding
knives differed only from Others in being
more highly ornamented. Shakespeare,
In an old quarto, 1897, makes Juliet
wear knife at the friar's cell. The
wooden girdle, or cincture, worn by
Roman brides, was a most essential part
OF their custom, and the peculiar form in
which this girdle was tied originated the
true lovers knot.
But wedding cakes, rs we understand
the term, are comparatively modern.
The origin of our bride-cake in its pre-
sent form may be traced back to about
the middle of the seventeenth century.
These cakes or buns, superseded the
hard, dry biscuits of an earlier date.
They were made of spice, currants, m ilk
sugar and eggs; and provided in large
quantities, not only by the bridegroom
but by most of the guests, at an Eliza
bethan wedding. Some were thrown
over the brides head, others put through
her ring and eaten for luck, or preserved
to inspire pleasant and prophetic dreams.
In Sweden bride has her pockets filled
with bread. 1t is supposed that every
piece she gives to the poor on the way to
church averts some misfortune. In
Norway the bride herself hands around
strong drinks, that all the company may
drink long life TO her; the wedding feast
lasts some days, and the guests have no
wish TO let their moderation be known.
In Liburnia it is the custom for the
bride to retire from the table before the
end of dinner. and to throw over the
bridegroom's house y hard cake made
OF coarse flour; the higher she throws it
the happier she will be. In Circassia
there are always set upon a carpet in one
OF the rooms in the bridegroom's house
vessel of wine and a plate Of dough !;
and the first thing the bride does on en-
| tering is TO kick over the wine, and
scatter the dough with her hands about
the room. In some parts of Russia the
bride and bridegroom during the ban
| quet, which always takes place on the
evening of the wedding day, are separa-
led by a curtain. The parents of the
couple exchange rings, and basket of
cheese and small loaves are blessed by
che priest.
In the time of Good Queen Bess,"
weddings of the aristocracy and great
people were distinguished by banquets,
pageants, etc. Most of these forms of
celebration have now fallen into disuse.
But there are some characteristics and
features Of weddings that have been
| preserved, with certain variations, for
many generations. From time imme-
mortal the practice of presenting the
bride with marriage gifts seems to have
prevailed. During the last century it
| was usual to celebrate a marriage with
sports and open house, to which all the
inhabitants of the district were hidden.
Cumberland was famous for these fetes.
Sofwas France. The custom Of throw
log the slipper is both "ancient and
honorable" The slipper was symbol
of authority in the East, and in token OF
submission TO her husband the bride re-
| u
with her husbands shoe. In Jewish
times the delivering IF stone was a
sign of formal renunciation of authority
over a woman. Formerly peculiar
form of shoe-marriage was celebrated at
Haworth, in Yorkshire, the place in
which the gentle "Currer Bell" lived
and died. In throwing this symbol Of
good luck the left shoe should always be
taken The Romans were very supasti-
tious as 10 the days and seasons when
marriages should be celebrated. The
Kalends, Nones and Ides of every month
were strictly avoided. The most FORUM
ate time in the whole year for marrying
was that which followed the Ides of
June. The sum and substance OF all
the popular belief that govern the choos-
ing of the appointed hour in the pres
ent age is briefly contained in two
rules: "Who marTies between the sickle
and the sythe will never thrive" is one.
The other the hackneyed lines:
| Monday for wealth,
Tuesday for health,
| Wednesday for the best day OF all;
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses,
| Saturday no luck Mt all.
Scan the marriage notice columns o
the newspapers, and see how closely
people follow the curt advice of the
stanza.
The origin of the term honeymoon
is an open question. But good authori-
ties say that il is said to have been de-
rived from the Teutonic custom ofdrink-
ing n concoction ofhoney for thirty days,
or a moons age, after a wedding feast.
Attila. the Hun. is said to have cele-
brated his nuptials in such n glorious
manner in the beverage hydromel that
he drank himself TO death on the we'd
ding day.-Mdrcidnf " Betrothdls aud