Why is June the most popular month for weddings?

The ancient Greeks and Romans both suggested marriage during a full moon because of its positive influence on fertility. The Romans favoured June, a month they named after Juno, the goddess of marriage, because if the bride conceived right away, she wouldn’t be too pregnant to help with the harvest. She also would probably have recovered from giving birth in time to help in the fields with the next year’s harvest.

What are the origins of the wedding ring?

A school of thought persists that the first wedding rings were used by barbarians to tether the bride to her captor’s home. This may or may not be true, but we do know that around 2800 B.C., because the Egyptians considered a circle to signify eternity, rings were used in marriage ceremonies. The Romans often added a miniature key welded to one side of the bride’s ring to signify that she now owned half of her husband’s wealth.

How did throwing confetti become a wedding custom?

Because the main purpose of marriage was to produce children, ancient peoples showered the new bride with fertility symbols such as wheat grain. The Romans baked this wheat into small cakes for the couple, to be eaten in a tradition known as conferriatio, or “eating together.” The guests then threw handfuls of a mixture of honeyed nuts and dried fruits called confetto at the bride, which we copy by throwing confetti.

Why do bridegrooms have a best man?

In ancient times, most marriages were arranged, and so the groom wasn’t always the bride’s first choice. The man she favoured would often swear to carry her off before or during the wedding. To avoid this, the groom stood on the bride’s right to keep his sword arm free and would enlist a warrior companion to fight off the rival if he showed up. This companion was, in fact, the “best man.”

Why do people pray with a string of beads?

The rosary, or “wreath of roses,” first appeared in fifteenth-century Europe, but the practice of reciting prayers with a string of beads or knots goes back about five hundred years before the dawn of Christianity. The word bead comes from the Anglo-Saxon word bidden, meaning “to ask.” The principle for both Christians and Muslims is that the more you ask or repeat a prayer the more effective it is, and so the rosary is an aid in keeping count.

Why are those who carry the coffin at a funeral called “pallbearers"?

The ancient Sumarians buried their dead in woven baskets that the Greeks called kophinos, giving us the word coffin. Because people feared that the departed soul was looking to possess a new body, or re-enter his own, the coffin bearers wore hoods and black clothes, then hid the coffin under a black cloth that the Romans called a pallium, which gave us the prefix “pall,” as in pallbearer.

Why are Christian men required to remove their hats in church?

Removing clothing as an act of subjugation began when the Assyrians routinely humiliated their captives by making them strip naked. The Greeks amended this by requiring their new servants to strip only from the waist up. By the Middle Ages, a serf had to remove only his hat in the presence of his superiors. Following these gestures of respect for the master is the reason Christian men remove their hats in church and why Muslims leave their shoes by the mosque door.

Why do we cover our mouths and apologize when we yawn?

The yawn is now known to be the body’s way of infusing oxygen into a tired body, but suggestion is the only explanation for its contagiousness. To ancient man, who had witnessed many lives leave bodies in a final breath, a yawn signalled that the soul was about to escape through the mouth and death might be prevented by covering it. Because a yawn is contagious, the apology was for passing on the mortal danger to others.

Why do we say “Let’s have a ball” when we are looking for a good time?

A “ball” was a medieval religious celebration held on special occasions such as the Feast of Fools at Easter. It was called a ball because the choirboys danced and sang in a ring while catching and returning a ball that was lobbed at them by a church leader (called the ring leader). Although tossing balls during large circular dances became a common folk custom, the only ball at a dance today is the name.

If most people use a fork in their right hands, why is it set on the left at the table?

When the fork surfaced in the eleventh century, the only eating utensil was a knife, which was used by the right hand to cut and deliver food to the mouth. The left hand was assigned the new fork, which is why it’s set on the left. In the mid-nineteeth century, forks finally reached the backwoods of America but without any European rules of etiquette, so settlers used the right hand for both utensils.

Why, when looking for a showdown, do we say,“I’ve got a bone to pick”?

Wild pack animals will eat from a carcass only after the alpha male has finished. Having a bone to pick establishes superiority and comes from an ancient Sicilian wedding ritual. At dinner’s end, the bride’s father would give the groom a bone and instruct him to pick it clean. This ritual signalled the groom’s authority over his new wife, establishing that in all future decisions, he would have the final word.

Why do we say that a married couple has “tied the knot”?

In Western culture, “tying the knot” suggests the pledge of inseparable unity made by a married couple. The expression comes from ancient India, when during the wedding ceremony the Hindu groom would put a brightly coloured ribbon around the bride’s neck. During the time it took to tie the ribbon into a knot, the bride’s father could demand a better price for his daughter, but once the knot was completed the bride became the groom’s forever.

Why do brides wear wedding veils?

Although veils for women are today associated with Muslims, their origin goes back at least three thousand years before Mohammed was even born. Outside of the Middle East, this symbol of modesty had all but disappeared by 400 B.C. when the Romans introduced sheer, translucent veils into the wedding ceremony to remind the woman that she was entering a new life of submission to her husband. Veils predate the wedding dress by several centuries.

Why does being “turned down” mean rejection?

To be “turned down” comes from an antiquated courting custom followed by our very proper ancestors. When all meetings between young men and women required chaperones, and because aggressive romantic suggestions were forbidden, a man carried a courting mirror, which, at a discreet moment, he would place face up on a table between them. If the woman favoured his advances, the mirror went untouched, but if she had no interest she would turn down the mirror — and the suitor.

What is the origin of the engagement ring?

The diamond engagement ring was introduced by the Venetians, who discovered the diamond’s value in the sixteenth century, but betrothal gifts hadn’t included rings until 860 A.D., when Pope Nicholas I decreed that a ring of value must be given as a statement of nuptial intent and that if the man called off the wedding, the jilted bride kept the ring. If the woman ended the engagement, she was to return the ring and be sent to a nunnery.

Why do the British drive on the left side of the road while Americans use the right?

The British custom of driving on the left was passed down from the Romans. The chariot driver stayed to the left in order to meet an approaching enemy with his right sword hand. Americans switched to driving on the right because on covered wagons, the brakes were built on the left, forcing the driver to sit on that same side and, consequently, to drive on the right so they could have a clear view of the road.

How did flipping a coin become a decision-maker?

The Lydians minted the first coins in 10 BC but it wasn’t until nine hundred years later that the coin toss became a decision-maker. Julius Caesar’s head appeared on one side of every Roman coin of his time, and such was the reverence for the emperor that in his absence often serious litigation was decided by the flip of a coin. If Caesar’s head landed upright, it meant that through the guidance of the gods, he agreed in absentia with the decision in question.

Why do we use Xs as kisses at the bottom of a letter?

During medieval times, most people could neither read nor write, and even those who could sign their names were required to follow it with an X, symbolizing the cross of St. Andrew, or the contract would be invalid. Those who couldn’t write their names still had to end the contract with the X to make it legal. To prove their intention, all were required to kiss the cross, which through time is how the X became associated with a lover’s kiss.

How did we start the ritual of kissing a wound to make it better?

Everyone with children has kissed a small bruise or cut to make it better. This comes from one of our earliest medical procedures for the treatment of snakebite. Noticing that a victim could be saved if the venom was sucked out through the point of entry, early doctors soon began treating all infectious abrasions by putting their lips to the wound and sucking out the poison. Medicine moved on, but the belief that a kiss can make it all better still lingers.

Why do funeral processions move so slowly?

The Romans introduced the lighting of candles and torches at funeral services to ward off evil spirits and guide the deceased to paradise. The word funeral itself is derived from the Latin word for torch. By the fifteenth century, people were placing huge candelabras on the coffin even as it was carried to the burial ground. The funeral procession moved at a very slow pace so that the candles wouldn’t blow out.