Growing up we all know of the basic superstitions we all know. Step on a crack and you’ll break your mothers back, walking under a ladder is bad luck and black cats are lucky/unlucky depending on the culture. These superstitions came from old wives’ tales that stuck when we were children and can carry over into adulthood. It seems that there are superstitions for everything. From swimming to sleeping to even your wedding day. Many wedding superstitions become popular mainly out of articles or what is bad luck. It seems that there may be something that could come from each of these superstitions according to CNN. Every Bristol bride has heard at least one of these superstitions, the question is how well do you actually know these tales?
Something old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
This saying is the most common when it comes to a brides wedding day. Even as children you knew the rhyme without fully understanding the connotations behind each item. Each item that the bride has to help her through her wedding day is supposed to bring her luck on her wedding day and throughout her marriage in general.
Old
The Past
New
The happy future of the couple
Borrowed
From an individual who is happily married, the luck is to rub off on the bride
Blue
“Fidelity and love”
This tradition is usually simple to recreate as the gown is typically the new so that only leaves a few other things that can be old. But this tradition has stayed and it can be easily remembered.
Bad luck to see each other before the wedding
Well, we all know this one. The bride and groom stay at separate places and need to find ways to communicate when it comes to the morning before the wedding. This actually goes back to arranged marriages though. When it came to arranged marriages, the bride and groom often would not know each other before the wedding so it was believed that seeing each other before hand would cause them to change their mind about going through with the wedding.
Carrying the bride across the threshold
The romantic thing to do would be to carry the bride across the threshold for years. However, this is because in Medieval England, the bride was susceptible to evil spirits through her feet. So the groom needed to carry the bride inside the home so that no evil spirits were brought with her.
Ringing Bells
While many churches ring bells to symbolize a wedding anyways this tradition is especially popular in Ireland. The bells were chimed to help keep evil spirits away while also enduring a harmonious family life. Sometimes bells are even carried in a bouquet and given as gifts for a reminder of the vows and for further good luck.
Wedding superstitions mainly become popular due to traditions and culture specific believes. They continue to be popular as the romanticism of a traditional wedding is common. These superstitions all are used to attempt to ensure good luck in the marriage and happiness for the couple. So long as they symbolized the good, they are welcome at any ceremony.