After Reception

SHOES TIED TO BUMPER:

Tying shoes to the bumper of the car represents the symbolism and power of shoes in ancient times. Egyptians would exchange sandals when they exchanged goods, so when the father of the bride gave his daughter to the groom, he would also give the brides sandals to show that she now belonged to the groom. In Anglo Saxon times, the groom would tap the heel of the bride’s shoe to show his authority over her. In later times, people would throw shoes at the couple, and now we just tie shoes to their car.

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CARRYING THE BRIDE OVER THE THRESHOLD:

There seems to be two explanations for this tradition where the groom carries his bride over the threshold when entering their home as a married couple for the first time. The first is to protect the bride from evil spirits that were thought to be lying in wait under the threshold. The second explanation relates to Roman times when it was believed that if the bride stumbled when entering the newlywed’s home for the first time, it would bring bad luck and harm to their marriage. So carrying the bride across the threshold would prevent this from happening (although we have not established the likely outcome to the marriage if the groom stumbled while carrying the bride!

HONEYMOON:

This was a chance for the new couple to hide from family and friends for a period of time.

SHIVARE:

This custom dates back from the Middle Ages. A group of friends would gather and bang on pots and pans, shoot off guns, etc. to disturb the newlywed couple on their wedding night.

VALENTINES DAY:

Once married, remembering Valentines Day is a requirement. But who was St. Valentine? One story is that during the days of Emperor Claudius, war was raging, and Claudius thought that bachelor soldiers would fight harder so he outlawed marriage, so St. Valentinus, a priest, would marry people secretly. Another story says that Valentinus was a Christian who refused to worship pagan gods and was imprisoned. During this time, he made friends with the jailer’s blind daughter and cured her through prayer. When he was executed, on February 14, he left a note for her singed, “your Valentine”.