Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-08-30
Mistellansous Rsading.
COMMON WEDDING CUSTOMS.
Giving of Presents, Came from Max
ing of Loans.

Giving of Presents, came from Max
ing of Loans.
The origin Of wedding customs Is
an appropriate subject Of inquiry In
this month of June. Why do people
make wedding gifts? Why do they
throw rice and the old shoe? Why dc
they use a ring, and why place 1t or
the third finger Of the left hand? Why
does the bride dress as she does? Why
are certain seasons and days more
favored than others?
The custom Of giving wedding pres
ents runs back in England at least ia
the Norman Conquest. The money
or articles then bestowed by one peas
ant upon another were understood
to be but loans to be returned when
the couple were established. But
as the feudal lord grew in power he
came to expect gifts for his children's
marriages from all persons dependent
upon him, and indeed had laws pass
ed compelling a present in value up
to one-twentieth Of the tenants yearly
rent. Among the higher classes this
giving became more and more an
open commercial transaction. James
1. received at the wedding of his
daughter Elizabeth the sum Of 921,-
900.
The Pound Party.
The common people, seized with
the same greed, originated the IBID
ding" or penny" wedding, at which
light refreshments were served, and a
plate was passed around for cash
gratuities. AS much as 9100 (fully
equal to $1,000 in modern money!
was sometimes collected by this
means. The custom survives in a
slightly changed form in the pound
parry" often given the newly married
in this country.
The present at length became so
important a part Of the institution Of
marriage that many churches kept q
register for the accurate listing Of
such tokens and the terms Of their
presentation. Frequently, to increase
this source Of matrimonial income,
the bridesmaids collected the gifts
during the wedding at the church
porch.
A successful way Of increasing the
gifts was to prepare an entertainment
called an "ale," stick up a green bush
in front Of the house, and bid every
body, neighbor and stranger, priest
and scamp welcome. These entertain
ments were highly profitable enter
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that many shires passed laws allowing
only thirty-two at any one "ale."
In the old days, as now, the bride
generally dressed in white. From
early Saxon times down to the eigh-
teenth century bride Of the poorer
classes came to the wedding arrayed
in a plain white robe as public
warning that since she brought moth
ing to the marriage her husband was
not responsible for her debts. Brides
soon began to add some little touch
of color. Blue was for constancy and
green for youth, but in some places
these might not be used because Of
feuds between families using these
tints in their liveries. Yellow might
not be worn, as 1t stood for jealousy;
golden might not, as it meant avarice.
The Anglo Saxon bride went to the
as a sign Of freedom, but upon reach
ing her new house Immediately bound
1t up as a sign Of submission. In the
days of Shakespeare the veil began
to take the place Of the flowing
tresses, but this, however, was not
original with the British, for CEN
turies earlier the Roman and Hebrew
brides had worn yellow wells, while
the early Christians Of southern Eu-
rope had enveloped both man and
wife in one large cloth.
Spris of Rosemary.
Whatever was lacking, however, in
gorgeousness of dress was compen-
fusion of flowers chosen for their
There was long a GUS
tom for each guest to dip a sprig Of
rosemary into his cup Of wine before
drinking to the couples health. Then
too, the bride Gf she were not q
widow) and the bridegroom wore
garlands Of wheat as a symbol Of
plentifulness and increase, and at the
present time the bridal wreath Of
orange blossoms possesses the same
Garlands, garlands every
where-so many that often men had
to be hired to carry them in the pro-
cession. Even the rejected suitor
sometimes wore the garland Of gray
willow.
Besides the flowers there was the
true love knot worn by both bride
and bridegroom, an ornament intro
duced by the Danes in the ninth CEN
tury and called by them the "trulofa,"
the troth. Three ornaments there
were that only a bride was supposed
to wear-a ring for pledge, q
brooch for innocence and a garland
as a crown of victory for temptations
resisted.
If there was trouble in the actual
there was perhaps more in
gaining the right to marry. The
church Of the ninth century forbade
the marriage Of first cousins; by the
year 100 second cousins were de-
MED the right, and later unions of
third cousins were illegal. A widow
might not wed her husbands brother.
cousin or other near relative; a per-
son might not marry his or her god
father or godmother; parents might
not marry either godparent, a man
and a woman having the same god
parents might not unite; the god
father and the godmother of the same
child might not wed. and persons who
had touched the babe at the christen-
ing became spiritually relatives and
might never choose one another. And
then there were the bans. The bride
might not go to the church to defend
herself. for If a maid heard her own
bans read all her children would be
deaf and dumb.
Best Time to Marry.
What is the best time to marry? 1t
all depends, according to one tradi-
tion. May IA, even if it be a Wednes-
day, brings i'll luck all the rest Of the
year, while Christmas Day, the an
niversary of Herod's massacre of the
innocents. is an absolute guarantee Of
misfortune. Then again evil times
result If you have your bans read at
the end of one quarter and you mar
ry on the first Sunday in the next.
On the other hand a wedding on the
last day of the year Is exceedingly
fortunate, while a wedding on q day
when the moon Is growing is believed
even yet by the northern British to
bring all happiness.
And what month is best? The an
cient Romans held that May and
February were particularly unlucky,
while before the Reformation the
Church forbade unions between the
first Sunday of Advent and Hilary
Day, between Septuagesima Sunday
and low Sunday and between Roga-
tion Sunday and Trinity Sunday leav-
ing only thirty-two weeks in the