I was reading one of our local historicals and came across an article on superstitions and customs. "Why brides are carried over the theshold " was very intersting. In the time of arranged marriages, a bride was wisked away to her wedding - to a groom she most likely never met. She would be taken into the church with a veil over her face to prevent the groom from balking if his intended was a little less than beautiful. Immiediatly after the ceremony, at a time when many a rebellious new bride would jump onto the nearest horse to make good her escape, her new husband would literally pick her up and carry her, kicking and screaming into her new home. And we thought romance was tough today.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 03, 2000

Answers

I'm going from memory here, but I believe "honeymoon" comes from the custom of giving the couple a potent brew made from honey for the moon (month) that they were sequestered together. Apparently, the purpose was to ensure that the woman was pregnant by the end of the honeymoon, so could not leave her new "husband", and the fermented brew was too keep them both a bit drunk the entire time. The good old days weren't always so good!

The best man and groomsmen were originally to stand as bodyguards to the groom and repel attempts to rescue the bride, as she was often abducted not only without her consent, but also without that of her family.

Hmmmmmm. Maybe if you didn't WANT the guy, you'd be smart to flip up that veil!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), November 03, 2000.

Sounds like in the old days the words weren't "love and war" but instead "love is war".

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 03, 2000.

i have heard that the honey moon was honey mead a months worth and old heathen custom and i and i have heard that the groom was supposed to help the bride across the threshold because if she stumbled or tripped it was a bad sign bad luck jkg

-- jkg (godseyj@mail.ips.k12.in.us), November 09, 2000.