Wedding Day Traditions
June 6, 2009
One of the best known wedding day traditions is for the bride, and is remembered by the saying ‘’something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’. The rest of the rhyme has fallen out of favour in recent years and reads ‘and a silver sixpence in her shoe’, and the tradition dates back to Victorian times and means:
Something Old – this represents the brides family, and in particular her links to the matriarchs of her family and it is traditional for the something old to be a piece of jewellery that belongs to her mother or grandmother, that was once handed to them on their wedding day, or their mother’s wedding dress.
Something New – this represents the bride’s future with her new husband, and a new wedding dress is usually used to represent the ‘new’ part of the rhyme.
Something Borrowed – this is to represent the fact that even though the bride is entering a new stage of her life, she is still supported by all of her friends and family, and the borrowed object is normally something small and simple such as a piece of jewellery, a hair decoration or a lace handkerchief.
Something Blue – blue is the symbolic color of faithfulness and loyalty, and also the traditional color of purity. This is normally represented with a blue garter, or any other blue item such as a piece of jewellery or an embroidered handkerchief.
Silver sixpence – this is no longer part of the modern day tradition, but the silver sixpence was given to the bride to wish her and her new husband health, wealth and happiness.
Other wedding traditions include a wedding veil for the bride, which was thought to protect her from evil spirits as she made the vulnerable transition from the safety of one life with her family to the safety of a new life with her husband. Also it is traditional to throw confetti at weddings, and this has replaced throwing rice or grain, which symbolised good health and fertility.
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