Wedding Traditions

In the pursuit of creating a positive memory that will last the test of time and help build a relationship that will never falter, many people have jumped on board wedding day traditions submersed in mysticism. If you had a magic wand and wanted to make sure your future destiny was wrapped tight in positive energy to ensure a life long happy marriage, then I am sure you have heard the saying "Something old, Something new, something borrowed, something blue, a sixpence in her shoe" Do you know where it came from? or are you just partaking in the tradition that was either pass down to you from family, or told to you through friendship? Although some might say the last portion is the one they have not heard of, I will explain the tradition in depth to give you a greater insight to both its history and hidden meanings.

History

Back in the middle ages it was customary to offer a talisman (good luck charm) to those individuals or couples entering a right of passage. It was thought that during those times the evil spirits were hard at play trying to wreak havok on them. In order to help those people on their journey through their passage these good luck charms would ward off anything that was negative to keep them and their families out from harms way.

A wedding was a right of passage that was believed to hold the most energy as two lives where being united and with those two lives came the history and generations from both sides. Opening the door to the possibilities of things going wrong, the first custom was put into play to combat the evil spirits that wanted to curse your new happy union. By giving a bride "Something old" she is thought to be inline with family traditions and that will help protect her since she will not be open to let evil in by following the wrong path. Having "Something new", was just an addition to something old ensuring the future ahead was filled with prosperity. It was also believed that obtaining "Something Borrowed" from a family member whose marriage was filled with happiness, those outcomes would be bestowed upon you. With "Something Blue", its been thought to be the barer of purity, love, and fidelity as the Virgin Mary has been dressed with it. The last portion of this wedding phrase is "a sixpence in her shoe", here is what a sixpence looks like-

It was customary for the father of the bride to offer her a piece of silver as his token of good luck to ensure his daughters safe passage and to give her continued protection against all that is evil.

In the early 1200's Norway tried to invade Scotland, but its believed that one of their soldiers who was walking barefoot stepped on an area covered with thistle. Shouting in pain the soldier gave away the sneaky attack and therefore the plot to take control of Scotland was derailed. The thistle became the symbol of faith and the defender of it, so in 1470 they started to place them on the backs of the coins. These coins over a period of time became items that were also given in the dowery from the brides family to the groom. Today some of these coins can be found making their way down from generation to generation in keeping with tradition. These coins served as two forms of protection, the silver was thought to be the most effective item to ward off evil spirits and with the thistle foiling the plans of a major attack the two combined create a powerful and effective means to keep anyone safe from the harms of evil.
What are some of your traditions?

"Something old, something new, someones' treasures just for you"

"You may now kiss...Your items goodbye"