Traditions

[Marsha]

CHOOSING THE DAY
Although most weddings now take place on a Saturday it was considered unlucky in the past. Fridays were also considered unlucky particularly Friday the 13th. The famous old rhyme advises a wedding in the first half of the week:
Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses
Saturday for no luck at all
Advice on which month to marry in is given by the following rhyme:
Married when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bred.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see
Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
Marry in May and you'll live to rue the day-
May has been considered an unlucky month to marry in for a number of reasons. In Pagan times the start of summer was when the festival of Beltane was celebrated with outdoor orgies. This was therefore thought to be an unsuitable time to start married life. In Roman times the Feast of the Dead and the festival of the goddess of chastity both occurred in May. The advice was taken more seriously in Victorian times than it is today. In most Churches the end of April was a busy time for weddings as couples wanted to avoid being married in May. Queen Victoria is thought to have forbidden her children from marrying in May.
Marry in Lent, live to repent-Lent was thought an inappropriate time for a wedding as this was a time of abstinence.
June was considered to be a lucky month to marry in because it is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of love and marriage.
The Summer as a whole was considered a good time to marry and this is partly to do with the sun's association with fertility. In Scotland one popular custom was for the bride to "walk with the sun" to bring her good. She would walk from east to west on the south side of the church and then continue walking around the church three times.

Married in White, you have chosen right,
Married in Blue, your love will always be true,
Married in Pearl, you will live in a whirl,
Married in Brown, you will live in town,
Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead,
Married in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow,
Married in Green, ashamed to be seen,
Married in Pink, your spirit will sink,
Married in Grey, you will go far away,
Married in Black, you will wish yourself back.

[Marsha]

ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING

When the bride is ready to leave the house for the wedding ceremony a last look in the mirror will bring her good luck. However returning to the mirror once she has began her journey will result in bad luck.

Seeing a chimney sweep on the way to a wedding is though to bring good luck and it is still possible to hire one to attend wedding ceremonies. Other good luck omens when seen on the way to the ceremony include lambs, toads, spiders, black cats and rainbows.

Seeing an open grave, a pig, a lizard, or hearing a cockerel crow after dawn are all thought to be omens of bad luck. Monks and nuns are also a bad omen. This may be because the are associated with poverty and chastity. They are also though to signal a dependence on charity by the newlyweds.

Bad weather on the way to the wedding is thought to be an omen of an unhappy marriage, although in some cultures rain is considered a good omen. Cloudy skies and wind are believed to cause stormy marriages. Snow on the other hand is associated with fertility and wealth.

It is said that the first partner who buys a new item after the wedding will be the dominant one in the relationship. Many brides ensure that they make the first purchase by arranging to buy a small item such as a pin from the chief bridesmaid immediately after the ceremony.
WEDDING DAY

Good Omens:
-seeing a rainbow
-having the sun shine
-meeting a black cat
-meeting a chimney sweep
-A week before the wedding, it is considered good luck to have a cat eat out of your left shoe.
-Chinese superstitions state that carrying an open red umbrella over the bride will protect her from evil spirits.
-If the bride sheds a tear on her wedding day, she will never cry again for the duration of her marriage.
-Wear earrings when you are married and you will always be happy.


WEDDING DAY
Bad Omens:
-a pig, hare, or lizard running across the road
-seeing an open grave
-meeting a nun or a monk foretell barrenness
-If candles are lit on your wedding day, and they sputter out, it means an evil spirit is nearby.
-A woman should only propose to a man during a leap year, otherwise it endangers the marriage.
-It's bad luck for the bride to start down the aisle on time.

MISC. BELIEFS
-If the groom drops the wedding band during the ceremony, the marriage is doomed.
-The new bride must enter her home by the main door, and must not trip or fall - hence the custom of carrying the bride over the threshold.
-The spouse who goes to sleep first on the wedding day will be the first to die.
-Only a virgin can wear a white wedding dress.

[Marsha]

HOUSE-CAT:A week before the wedding, have a house-cat eat out of your left shoe for good luck.

'Married in January's hoar and rime,
Widowed you'll be before your prime.
Married in February's sleepy weather,
Life you'll tread in time together.
Married when March winds shrill and roar,
Your home will be on a distant shore.
Married beneath April's changing skies,
A chequered path before you lies.
Married when bees over May blossoms flit,
Strangers around your board will sit.
Married in the month of roses - June,
Life will be one long honeymoon.
Married in July with flowers ablaze,
Bittersweet memories on after days.
Married in August's heat and drowse,
Lover and friend in your chosen spouse.
Married in September's golden glow,
Smooth and serine your life will go.
Married when leaves of October thin,
Toil and hardship for you gain.
Married in veils of November mist,
Fortune your wedding ring has kissed.
Married in days of December cheer,
Love's star shines brighter from year to year.'

'Change your name and not the letter,
You change for worse and not for better.'

NO KNIVES, PLEASE":
In the Jewish tradition, it's bad luck to receive knives as a wedding gift. In case someone should give knives, the bride should transform the exchange into a financial transaction by giving a penny or nominal sum for the knives.

"PENNY LOAFER":Put a penny in your shoe for wealth in your marriage.

RAIN:Rain on your wedding day means you will have many children.
If a bride cries on her wedding day, those shall be the last tears she ever sheds over her marriage.
A superstition from Mexico has it that the bride can not wear pearls in her wedding day for the pearls are the tears she will cry in her marriage.

Rumor has it that couples should marry when the second-hand of the clock is going up instead of going down. For example, 2:30 pm or 10:45 am.

If you want a sunny wedding day, it was a good idea to place a figurine of the Virgin Mary in your window the week before the date. This was to help guarantee that the day would be sunny and wonderful in many ways. Hope this is one that can be shared.

[Marsha]

The groom, meanwhile, is taken out for a stag night. The groom is likewise dressed up and taken around town by male companions, sometimes looking like a pregnant woman. His companions often indulge in a great deal of harmless practical joking, of which the poor groom is the main target. When the wild night winds down, the groom is usually left in the street in front of his home stripped of his clothes and sometimes even tied up. In the Scottish Highlands, an old custom known as creeling the bridgegroom was popular. A large basket (creel) is filled with stones and is tied to the groom's back. The groom was required to carry the weight throughout the town searching for his bride. If his bride would come out and kiss him, he would be relieved of his burden.

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