| traditions + customsTraditions, customs, conventions, and superstitions, whether you realise it or not, are probably all a part of your wedding.
Photo: Bob Gould Photography
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| Although most of these rituals started in times when marriage was very different to what it is today, their core symbolism relates to the unification of a couple - to a ‘couple’ becoming ‘one’. And because they can still apply to ‘marriage’ as we know it today, they still exist, and are usually still followed.
The eternal bondThis never-ending circle, complete union without end, is most readily symbolised in marriage in Australia today by the wedding rings. Customs comply with ‘the eternal bond’ in various ways. The wedding ceremony of the Greek Orthodox involves holding a crown over the couple. In the Jewish tradition, the ceremony takes place under a ‘huppah’, where the couple shares a glass of wine. The groom then breaks the glass, freezing the moment in time. Some Asian cultures believe that by sharing rice from the same bowl, the bride and groom show their oneness. Similarly, in Japanese custom, the couple takes three sips of rice wine to seal their union.
Carried over the threshold... and onto your honeymoonThis romantic, albeit not very chiropractically sound, custom is believed to have derived from the time when tribal man hit his chosen wife over the head, and carried her away where her kin couldn’t find them! Today, the groom will carry his bride over the doorway (and not much further) of the room where they will spend their first night together as a married couple. The custom of a ‘honeymoon’ is said to have similar origins. One month of seclusion was considered enough time for the bride’s kin to call off the search for her. Another theory for the word ‘honeymoon’ originated in ancient Egypt where the bride’s father gave the groom a full pot of honey in honour of the union. The ceremony always took place on a full moon, hence the word honeymoon.
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