Wedding Wednesday

Wedding Wednesday #1

It is Wednesday…that means Wedding!

Did you ever wonder why brides carry flowers?  

Where did this tradition come from?

There are two thoughts as to the answer…

Cover that smell…

One reason for this custom was many, MANY years ago bathing was not viewed as the necessity it is now.  In the 1600s people would take a yearly bath.  Yes, yearly.  This bath usually occurred in May, therefore, making June the traditional month to get married.  The man of the house would start the bath, then the sons, then the wife followed by any girls.  The last to go in would be the baby.  By this time the water was so filthy, you could not see past the top.  Thus the saying “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”  By June, the “freshness” has worn off a bit.  To help mask the odor women would carry bundles of flowers.  They would usually be very fragrant flowers.

Be gone evil spirits…

A second thought to this custom was the need to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.  The bouquet was made of very strong smelling herbs such as dill and garlic which would send any self-respecting evil spirits running for the hills.  After the wedding, the bride’s bouquet would be taken apart and served in the wedding feast.  The idea behind this was to promote the amorous activity that would occur that evening.

Today…

Many brides today will still carry a bought.  However, it is not always flowers.  According to what I have seen in Pinterest, brides are now making bouquets out of old broaches, lanterns, wreaths, Christmas bulbs, feathers and even flowers made from an old book.  So you see in today’s modern world anything is possible.

Regardless of what the bride carries, she will be beautiful as she walks down the aisle to meet her groom.   And they lived happily ever after!

PoCoLo

8 Comments

  1. Pero

    No , no , Saturday means wedding , so you can heal hangover on Sunday from wedding 🙂 🙂

  2. Zvonimir

    All of that are traditions from middle “dark” age , but i agree bride always looks pretty

  3. Marko

    ” And they lived happily ever after! ” replace that with “until divorce” and you have today’s reality

  4. Dana Rodriguez

    This is a really interesting post. I have never heard these!

  5. Sam

    A love a bit of history thanks for sharing X #pocolo

  6. Love it! I had no idea that was why women carried flowers on their wedding day. My bouquet was made of fake flowers and jewels. I still have it actually. 🙂
    Thanks so much for linking this interesting post to #pocolo

  7. Rosie

    It is amazing how many traditions we never really give much thought to how they started or why. I love this, and surprising how much bathing customs have changed, and wedding bouquet!

  8. Jovan

    Interesting info , thanks for it

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