Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

6 Halloween traditions that tell you who to marry

Today, Halloween is celebrated around the world. For most of us, the word conjures up dressing up in costume, scary decorations, handing out candy to children who come to the door and plenty of costume parties. But did you know it is a day of fruits and vegetables to help you learn about who you are going to marry?

Ancient origins of Halloween

Before we get to those traditions, let's take a quick look at Halloween’s origins. They can be traced back about 2,000 years to a Gaelic festival called Samhain, held at the end of the harvest season. At that time, the Celts celebrated the start of the new year on November 1. The celebration of the Festival of Samhain was a two-day event which started on October 31. 

People at that time believed that on the eve of the new year, dead spirits could come back to life and so the people wore masks and other disguises to blend in with the evil spirits. Why? They thought that if these spirits happened to pay a visit, the disguises would trick them into thinking they were one of them. 

By 43 A.D. the Romans picked up the tradition and made it their own. They had a custom of celebrating the passing of the dead in October on a day they called Feralia, and so they combined that with the celebration of Samhain. By the 9th century, the Catholic church picked up on the celebration to include all saints and martyrs, and November 2 was labeled “All Soul’s Day.” This was most likely an attempt to replace the Celtic festival with a church-approved day.

 


6 Halloween traditions that tell you who you will marry

Ring in the mashed potatoes: One long-forgotten Halloween tradition deals with figuring out who you were going to marry. Imagine an 18th-century Irish cook burying a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night in hopes it would bring true love to the guest who found it. (Every time I hear ideas like this, I can’t help but thinking of the unlucky person choking to death instead of finding true love).

In early 20th century Scotland, hosts mashed up a big tub of potatoes and hit the ring, button or coin, and a thimble. Guests gathered around the tub with spoon in hand and lights off. Each dipped their spoon into the spuds in hopes of getting the ring. If a boy found the button or coin with his spoon, he was destined to be a bachelor all his life. If a girl found the thimble, she would be a spinster, but the person who found the ring was fated for marriage and happiness.

 


Naming hazelnuts: The Scottish tradition of naming hazelnuts was safer health-wise. Fortune-tellers suggested that eligible young women name hazelnuts for each of their suitors. Once named, they tossed them into the fire blazing in the hearth, one at a time. If a nut burned to ash instead of exploding, the name of that nut signified the girl’s future husband. With that said, I’ve also heard that the opposite interpretation was true saying that the nut that burned predicted that the love wouldn’t last.

Eating dessert before bed: Another Halloween wedding superstition includes the consumption of a sugary treat made with walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg. It had be eaten before bed on October 31. Women who followed this practice were said to dream about their future husbands.

Apple peels: Another food-related Halloween superstition includes apple peels. Young women threw the peels over their shoulders and turned to see how they landed on the floor and then interpreted them as the initials of their future husbands. The catch is, you had to keep the peel from a whole apple in one piece!

 


Egg yolks in water: This Halloween marriage-predicting superstition started with egg yolks floating in a bowl of water. Divination using eggs, known as Oomancy, took on various forms. Candles are another common tool for divination. This particular practice uses both. A woman stood in a dark room holding a candle in front of a mirror to try to learn about her future. She peered at the egg yolks floating in the bowl of water and then looked over her shoulder to see her future husband’s face. I wonder how many times had to try to see something. And what if they saw a face they didn’t like?


 

Bobbing for apples: This last superstition is one we are familiar with, bobbing for apples. Fun, right? Author Joan Morgan, co-author of The New Book of Apples says, "apples, apple peels and even pips have long been used to peer into the romantic future." Bobbing for apples is one of these ways and became a popular game. Girls marked their apples in a way no one else would know and added them into a barrel of water. Then, potential beaus tried to grab the floating apples with their teeth. The first one to successfully get an apple was thought to be the first one that would walk down the aisle.

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Thursday, February 1, 2018

Courtship and marriage customs in the Georgian Era



Yesterday we looked at vintage wedding rings from England’s Georgian era. These handcrafted rings offer a variety of styles influenced by world events and more over 100 plus years (1714 to 1837). Today, these vintage rings offer classic craftsmanship with a romantic feel from yesteryear if you are lucky enough to find one, but courtship and marriage in the Georgian era often had nothing to do with romance or even love.


 
Don’t get me wrong, love was one reason a couple might have gotten married, but often marriage was a matter of convenience, like making a deal, for reasons like producing heirs, combining finances and families, or to get out of poverty or escape a life of loneliness. Author Jane Austen sums it up the reality of the times in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice when she wrote “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.”

Courtship
It may surprise some to know that the age of consent for courtship for girls was age 12 and for boys was age 14. However, even if they were betrothed at such a young age, minors under the age of 21 needed parental consent to marry.

Class prejudice
The Georgian era is known for rigid class prejudice and this played into choosing who you could marry. Choosing someone from the same class made things easier to marry. For instance, if the woman’s family didn’t have a adequate dowry she wouldn’t be likely to see male suitors from “good families” showing interest in pursuing her. However, a socially acceptable double standard allowed well-to-do men to keep a lower-class mistress without criticism, but if they married that same woman they faced condemnation and could even be shunned.


Sex before marriage
Back then, sex before marriage wasn’t illegal, but if the girl became pregnant, she would be pressed to name the father under the Bastardy Act, and such couples could be forced to wed. However, young men who served as apprentices were often committed to their role for seven years from age 14, and were not allowed to “commit Fornication, nor contract Matrimony.”

Marriage
Most couples didn’t get married until they reached their early 20s, once the man finished his apprenticeship and became financially stable. No matter the age, choosing the right companion was a huge decision because marriage was a lifelong commitment with "till death us do part" of their wedding vows taken seriously.

Superstitions related to marriage
Some people depended on superstitions to help find a spouse. One practice was to take place on St. Agnes’ Eve. In this case, the woman took a row of pins and stuck them in her sleeve one at a time, and with each pin she was to say the Lord’s Prayer. With this done, she expected to dream of man she would marry. Another superstition held at this time included the bad luck of walking under a ladder believing it could prevent you from being married that year!
 
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Photo credits: wikimedia.org, wikimedia.org