The Story of the Wedding Ring
- Wedding rings are a tradition that dates back to ancient times. As far as we know, primitive men and women did not have wedding ceremonies like we do today, but early grooms are believed to have had an interesting way of showing their intentions. A man would weave a special cord and tie it around the waist of the mate he wanted. The belief was that when he did this, her spirit entered his body and she was bound to him eternally.
- The ancient Egyptians were the first people known to take their symbol for eternity, the circle, and use it to signify the marriage union. They placed a ring on the third finger of the left hand (a tradition we still have today) because they believed that the "vein of love" ran directly from this finger to the heart. These ancient rings were made of everything from leather to bone to metal.
- Gold wedding bands-probably the most popular type of wedding ring in the world today-were once a sign of great prosperity. Wedding rings were also once used as part of a groom's bride payment in arranged marriages, and showed the groom's noble intentions. In the medieval and Renaissance periods, royalty and the wealthy often gave wedding rings encrusted with different gems. The plain wedding band supposedly became popular when Queen Mary I of England married King Philip II of Spain in 1554. She insisted on a simple ring without any gems.
The First Honeymoon
The origin of the term "honeymoon" is some thing of a mystery, but according to folklore, it stems from marriage practices of days long before wedding ceremonies ever existed. Instead of having a public marriage rite, a man would very often simply abduct his chosen bride, and would go into hiding with her for a period of time, until her (possibly enraged) relatives stopped looking for them. While in hiding the newlywed couple would supposedly drink a special type of wine made from honey. The period of hiding traditionally lasted for a month, enough time for the moon to go through all its phases; hence, the name honeymoon. Today, many couples still keep their honeymoon plans a secret.
|
|
