And for the rest of
their lives, the man and woman shall be together....
Doesn't it sound
romantic? For the man and the woman to leave their families to be as one, to
form a new family? It has been like this from time immemorial. And throughout
the millennia, the concept of family and marriage have been so closely knotted
together that it is sometimes impossible to separate one from the other.
Marriage is present in
every culture in some form. Although the laws, norms, and cultures may differ,
they all still recognize the union of man and woman under one roof.
Marriage has evolved
in so many ways from the different cultures all throughout the world throughout
the ages. For each culture, there are diverse ways of celebrating something
like marriage. But in each culture, there has always been one thing that has
remained the same – that in every culture, and every tribe, marriage has always
been one to be celebrated with the utmost of festivities, with singing, eating,
and celebrating.
Along with these
festivities, man has also adopted a growing, and evolving number of traditions
each filled with meaning and – believe it or not – shocking origins.
The Wedding Cake Today's
tall, elaborated, and delicately crafted wedding cakes evolved from the simple
grooms-cakes made by family members for the bride. Before the wedding day, one
of theses cakes was put under the pillow of the bride. The bride would then
sleep and 'dream" of the groom, and yes, squish that cake into oblivion.
The real wedding cake
would be a pound cake that would be "pound up" and crumbled and
tossed at the couple as a sign of fertility. That is where we get today's
custom of sprinkling the couple with rice after the wedding.
Cakes during weddings
are usually stacked up in large layers. The higher the stack, the more
"glamorous" the cake. People usually regard these arrangements are
mere style. However, they were done so in the past as a symbol of fertility.
Couples would stack these cakes to symbolize how many children the wished to
have. So in the past, the higher the stack, the more the children.
Tying the Knot Now the
truth can be told. Tying the knot did not necessarily mean getting knotted
together.. During ancient tribal times, the bride would usually be wrapped in a
sheep with a knot out in front. This was to symbolize virginity. "Untying the knot" was the groom's
privilege after the wedding the night.
Best Man – Secret
Agent And startling enough, the best man used to play a different role in the
early days. During tribal times, it was the best man's duty to abduct potential
brides from other tribes. He would usually do so by clubbing the poor damsel
over the head and drag her back home – just like those comic skits about
cavemen seem to suggest. It was also the best man's job to ward off the angry
relatives of the bride. So in the early days, it was the best man swinging his
axe while the groom got hitched.
Today Although we are
a little less barbaric than earlier times, we still see an evolution of the
wedding ceremony and its tradition. These traditions are filled with meaning
and can only serve to make your wedding day more memorable.
