IRISH SUPERTITIONS
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Irish believed that if the sun shone on the
bride,
it would bring good luck to the couple. It was also lucky to hear a cuckoo
on the wedding morning or to see three magpies. After the wedding ceremony,
it was important that a man and not a woman be the first to wish joy to
the new bride. Some other Irish superstitions and customs are:
-
It's good luck to have your birthstone in your engagement ring, even if that
stone is otherwise thought to be an unlucky gem.
-
The earrings you wear on your wedding day will bring you luck & happiness
ever after.
-
It's lucky to tear your wedding dress accidentally on your wedding day.
-
It's good luck if a happily married woman puts the veil on you, but bad luck to
put it on yourself.
-
It's lucky to be awakened by birds singing on your wedding morning.
-
If you look at the sun when you leave for your wedding, your children will be
beautiful.
SELECTING THE DATE
In Ireland the last day of the old year is thought specially lucky for
weddings. Childermas Day or Holy Innocents is,
on the contrary, a very unlucky one.....An old superstition holds that May is
an unlucky wedding month, because
of its association with the Virgin Mary, yet it is one of the most popular
months for weddings, both in America
and Ireland. A sunny day is lucky, and a rainy one, unlucky. Christmas &
New Year's Eve are lucky times to get married.
You Marry on Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of
all, Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses and Saturday no day at all
HONKING HORNS
Another ancient practice in some parts of Ireland is that of firing rifles
and other weaponry into the air as the couple pass to salute the bride; of
course over the past centuries this
has occasionally been observed with devastating results.
Honking the horns of the cars in the procession from the church replaces the
firing of guns.
LEAVING THE WEDDING
In centuries past, an Irish bride returned home by a different path with her
new husband than she took to the
church or wedding with her father. This may have begun as an attempt to avoid
pranks
(which often involved kidnapping), but also symbolizes that she travels a new
road in life as well.
BANNS
Banns of marriage were required in areas under British rule, including Wales,
Scotland and Ireland. The
banns consisted of an announcement in church for three Sundays prior to the
wedding. This
prevented people from marrying in haste and also gave any who might object time
to learn
of the match. Giving three months notice to the registrar is still a legal
requirement in
Ireland.
BRIDESMAIDS, BESTMAN
The bridal party has many origins, one of which comes from the Anglo Saxon
days.
When the groom was about to capture his bride, he needed the help of his
friends,
the "bridesmen" or "brideknights". They would make sure the
bride got to the church and to the groom's house afterwards. The bride also
had
women to help her, the "bridesmaids" or "brideswomen".
HANDFASTING
In some places and times it seems to mean betrothal and in others genuine
marriage.
Many interpret it as a trial marriage or a step beyond betrothal but not nearly
as permanent as marriage.
It is often repeated that this handfasting for a year and a day would normally
lead to regular
permanent and valid marriage but if either parties chose to leave, the
relationship was
null. Even if children had been brought forth these children were considered
lawful
offspring of both parents. Handfasting, it is claimed is a holdover from
pre-Christian Celtic
marriage laws. Today handfasting is now the familiar part of the ceremony
where the person
officiating the ceremony asks "Who gives this woman to be wed?" and
then takes
her hand from her father or whoever is giving away the bride and clasps it to
the hand of
the groom. In olden days the priest or minister would wrap the clasped hands in
the end of
his stole to symbolize the trinity of marriage; man and woman joined by God.
With
Gods grace in time another trinity would be manifest; mother, father and
child. The
Celts have always been good at seeing things in threes. This symbolic binding
together in
marriage evolved into a the practice of wrapping the clasped hands with a cord
or an
embroidered cloth, usually made especially for that purpose.