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Wedding Coins, the Tiara and more Bridal Tradition
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Wedding
Banns
The
wedding Banns are the public announcement of the future
wedding, so
that if there
is somebody who believes that this wedding should not happen
they
can declare their reasons in an attempt to stop the
ceremony
from taking place.
This
custom was initiated by the emperor Charlemagne who reigned over the
Frankish empire in Europe from 768 to 814AD. At that time,
many
marriages between close relatives were taking place, so the emperor
ruled that every grooms should communicate his commitment to becoming
married one week before the wedding. The Banns or
public
notices were hung on the door of the church so that everybody could see
them.
The
Wedding Tiara
The tiara is a very old bridal tradition. It is based
on the premise that the bride is considered to be "Queen for a day".
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The
13 Wedding Coins or Arras
The
Arras are thirteen coins of gold or silver which the goom
places
into the hands of the bride during the marriage ceremony.
This is
a custom that is most common in Hispanic weddings.
In
antiquity, the thirteen coins symbolized two things: the properties
and goods that the future marriage would share and the gift that the
groom gave to the bride as a sign of gratitude for her virginity.
The
Godparents or Witnesses
Currently
in some parts of the world, there is a custom whereby the Godfather
recites a poem to the bride. Also it is usually the Godfather
who
gives the marriage bouquet to the bride.
In the sacrement of
marriage in most religions, canon law does not insist that there are
godparents, but there must be witnesses, although often the
witnesses are known as "Godparents". They do not therefore
have to
be baptismal godparents or those from any religious confirmation of the
bride or groom. It is common that the
male godparents
accompany the bride and the female godparents accompany the groom to
the altar.
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The
Kiss at the Altar
When
kissing at the altar the breaths of the bride and groom are
mixed
and part of the sole of each of them merges into the other.
This
celebrates the union of two people becoming as one.
Dragging
Cans Behind the Car
This
tradition derives from a Tudor custom. Wedding guests
would throw
shoes in the direction of the newlywed couple, and it was considered
good luck if one any of the shoes entered and rattled around in the
carriage. This reflects a similar tradition of using pots,
pans
and cow bells behind the wedding vehicle to make noise which would ward
off any evil spirits who may try to ruin the marriage. Nowadays we use cans behind the car instead which is probably a better idea than throwing your shoes at the bride or groom. At least the current way doesn't risk them losing consciousness on their biog day in the event that a clumpy bit of footwear whacks them on the head!
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