History of Italian wedding soup

A legend of sorts accompanies the Italian wedding soup recipe. The story says that this soup was served at Italian wedding receptions and that it worked more or less as an aphrodisiac. Following the wedding reception, when the bride and groom consummated the marriage they’d be full of plenty of vim and vigor. Even as I researched this I wondered about the effect of the soup on the other wedding guests. But that would be another story, and if it were true, I don’t think the soup would be reserved for wedding receptions. While it’s a great story, the truth is that Italian wedding soup has nothing to do with weddings. Not only that, but some people suggest its origins have nothing to do with Italy because Spaniards carried it into Naples. But again, that’s one side of the claims. The other side is that it was a well-known recipe in Italy long before that. I'm not here to solve who is right.

Why is it called wedding soup?

Minestra maritata, which means “married soup” is an ancient peasant soup recipe. That's how it got the name Italian wedding soup. It earned the title originally because of the 'marriage' of the main ingredients. Originally, it consisted of inexpensive bits of leftover meat and leafy greens. The green vegetables (minestra) blended well with meat (maritata) and was eaten by people in Italy who couldn’t afford food. It was usually made using bits of sausage or meatballs and whatever green or slightly bitter veggies they had on hand and often contained no meat at all. The soup helped them not to feel hungry throughout the day much like the cabbage soup fad years back. If you’re looking for the recipe, it turns out there are a number of variations. As the stories go, some say it originated in Naples, others in Calabria, and others in Puglia, but all the recipes contain green vegetables and bits of meat. The recipe also has ties to America because the Neapolitans brought it when they arrived, though the Americanized version tends to be lighter. The one thing they all have in common is that they are a delicious way to add some greens to your diet.

How to make Italian wedding soup

Today, pasta often finds its way into the soup pot. I’ve included a video below of the soup I’ve tried. It won’t disappoint, though it is far from a peasant dish with some added ingredients. For this one, pasta is added to the soup bowl before serving.

 

While Italian wedding soup isn’t traditionally a soup served at weddings, feel free to add it to your wedding menu and serve it with crusty bread, homemade croutons, breadsticks, or an arugula salad. For fun, you can add some Italian wedding cookies to your dessert table too. And if you’re not planning a wedding, it’s still a perfect dish for the holidays. Special, delicious, and with history you can make your own. Plus it's easy to adjust to be keto friendly too.

 

Photo credits: Tom Ipri

7 traditional wedding garter fun facts

The garter toss is a popular Western wedding tradition. This ritual can be traced back to the Medieval ages, but before we delve into the fun facts of wedding garter history let me explain how this tradition works today. 

 

How the garter toss works today

The garter toss is considered a lighthearted tradition that takes place during the wedding reception. Most often, the bride is seated on a chair while all the guests circle around. The bachelors within the group congregate in one area. The groom then removes the garter. How this is done varies these days, but most often the husband removes the garter from the bride’s leg (usually worn just above the knee), with his hands. Once he has it in his hands, the groom turns his back and tosses it over his head to the group of bachelors. Think of it as a counterpart to the bouquet toss to the single women. Some people even have the woman who catches the bouquet dance the next dance with the bachelor who catches the garter. This leads to the question, where did this tradition come from?

7 traditional wedding garter fun facts

1. The garter toss started in England and France where guests tried to take a piece of the bride's dress for good luck.
2. Zealous guests often followed the couple from the reception to their marital bed, ripping at their clothes for a tatter of good luck.
3. To appease the eager guests and give the bride a break from the nerve-racking experience of people tearing bits form her wedding dress practice grooms started to toss out a piece of the bride's wedding attire. This was the inspiration behind the garter toss and bouquet toss. It started with the toss of the garters that held up the bride’s stockings up.
4. The garter toss was used as a distraction so the newlyweds could make a quick escape from the wedding reception as everyone scrambled to get their hands on the good luck charm.
5. Today the wedding garter symbolizes good luck to the bachelors in attendance.
6. Superstition attached to the garter is that whoever catches it will be next to get married.
7. Today the garter toss is a way to gather all of the unmarried men to the dance floor.

 Garter toss not for everyone

While this is a popular wedding tradition that’s meant to be lighthearted in today’s Western culture, it is not for everyone. Some consider the long-standing tradition to be raunchy or at least awkward. Like any tradition, if you feel this way, feel free to skip it entirely.

The biblical story of Esther is about a woman chosen as a candidate to become queen to the Persian king after he deposed his first wife. As Esther waited her turn to see the king, she had help getting ready. While I can’t say for sure, tradition puts Esther at 40 years old at the time. In some ways, with many women involved, it was a beauty contest and the preparation took a year. First, Esther used myrrh for six months as part of her beauty treatments. Used topically, myrrh oil helps fade blemishes, reduces symptoms of eczema and other skin ailments, and effectively cleans, moisturizes, and tightens the skin. It is also said to bring emotional balance. Esther's myrrh routine was followed by six months of other beauty treatments.

 

Ancient skin care secrets

So what else can we learn from ancient cultures regarding skin treatments before the wedding day arrives? When it comes to ancient times and beauty, I couldn’t help but think of Cleopatra’s life. Maintaining beauty was a life-long endeavor for her. Many of the things she used were not available to common folk at the time but some are still available to us today.

Milk baths: Cleopatra was renowned for her milk baths which kept her skin soft and beautiful. Even if you’ve heard about her milk baths, you might not know that the milk was not cow’s milk. It wasn’t even goat or sheep milk. It was donkey’s milk. Soured donkey’s milk. I know you might be scrunching your nose at this, but donkey’s milk was the beverage of the rich and widely accepted as the best substitute for infants when breastmilk wasn't available. The soured milk provided an extra benefit for her skin because when soured, the lactose in the milk converted to lactic acid.  When alpha hydroxy acids, like lactic acid, are applied to the skin it works kind of like a mild chemical peel. The surface layer of dead skin cells is eaten away, leaving new smoother blemish-free skin. Other ingredients added to her bath included:

Honey: Honey helps open the pores to clear away dirt, gently exfoliates, lightens scars, fights acne, deeply moisturizes.

Lavender and rose petals: While this was probably added for fragrance, it is interesting to note that lavender oil heals skin conditions. Its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and detoxifying benefits, helps diminish redness, soothes and calms the skin and rapidly heal minor cuts and scrapes, as well as any rashes.

A modern-day option to replace a milk bath is the use of plain Greek yogurt. It offers the same mild exfoliating action that removes dry skin and leave’s skin feeling refreshed and comfortable.

Egyptian Magic: Honey, Beeswax, Olive Oil, 

Royal Jelly, Bee Pollen and Bee Propolis.

 

Royal jelly: (This one is also from Cleopatra’s beauty secrets). Royal jelly is secreted by bees feeding the queen bee. As a cosmetic, it was used in her head-to-toe beauty treatments. Today it is a popular ingredient in skin care products, and research supports its use as a collagen enhancer. The same acid in royal jelly that boosts collagen production also suppresses skin pigmentation and can brighten dark spots. It not only nourishes the skin with vitamins and minerals, it also helps to protect against the effects of ultraviolet radiation.

Dead Sea minerals: Many Dead Sea products, including salts and water were imported to Rome for their unique medicinal use. The heavy mineral concentration offers more than 21 different minerals thought to help with skin problems like eczema and psoriasis. The clay from the Dead Sea also has high levels of calcium, magnesium, bromide, potassium and sulfate which get absorbed into the skin directly, nourishing and revitalizing it.

Other essential beauty secrets of ancient past: Almond, moringa, and castor oils. These full body skin treatments kept skin soft, with less wrinkles, and helped fight the side effects of excessive exposure to the sun.

Today, if you are working on your pre-bridal skin care at home, take a lesson from the past. Start early and be consistent to see the best results. Remember, Esther’s beauty treatments took 12 months. 

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5 popular Irish wedding traditions

 

Irish weddings are traditionally a time of celebrating family and friendships from around the world. It is a time of drinking, singing, laughing, and a hearty amount of partying. Amid the celebration, you'll find rich symbolism and a healthy dose of superstition. For this post we take a look at five popular Irish wedding traditions.

 

Irish wedding ring

 

Claddagh ring: The Irish Claddagh ring (pronounced “klahda”) is the traditional Irish wedding ring and also doubles as an engagement ring. Its distinguishing design offers unique symbolism and meaning that means different things depending on how you wear it. Each feature of the ring adds to its meaning: two hands (represent friendship) clasping a heart (symbolizing love) and usually topped by a crown (loyalty). While the meaning is clear, the origins of the Claddagh ring are shrouded among several legends.

 

Irish wedding band: Celtic knot wedding bands are the most popular design for Irish wedding bands because Celtic knot designs are crafted with a single thread that has no beginning or end. They symbolize the interconnection of life and eternity. On a wedding band, these loops are said to represent: eternal loyalty, faith, friendship, or love.

Handfasting

Before the church became involved in weddings, the handfasting ceremony was common in Ireland. It became the way couples were "officially" married. Today, this tradition is commonly used by couples for their unity ceremony, and the meaning of colors for handfasting cords adds another layer of symbolism and meaning to the couple’s special day.

 

 

Traditional Irish wedding toast

 

As far as wording goes, there isn’t one historic Irish wedding toast to fall back on. But the tradition of the Irish wedding toast does have a few idiosyncrasies to follow. Number one, the toast is to honor the couple. Even if the toast is funny, it should not put the bride and/or groom down. Secondly, it is common practice to use an Irish blessing, prayer, or proverb. For ideas, check out the Complete Guide to Irish Blessings.

Brass Claddagh Bell

 

Irish wedding bell tradition

The Irish wedding bell tradition started with the family giving the bride and groom a set of bells after they recited their vows. The couple rang the bells to ward off evil spirits and brought the bells home where they served as a reminder of the vows they made on their wedding day. Today, the Irish wedding bell is a popular wedding gift for Irish couples. It is to be kept in a prominent place in the home and when the couple argues they ring the bell to remind them of their wedding vows. If the dispute can’t be settled cordially, the bell is rung a little louder. This is supposed to purify and dispel stimulated emotions and change the perspective of the couple. This sounding of the bell also signals the end of the argument, even if neither the husband nor wife has ceded. It serves as a time out of sorts and allows the couple to cool down. For this reason, it is also known as the Irish make up bell.

 

The lucky Irish horseshoe

The horseshoe happens to be another Irish wedding icon. The shoes were traditionally given to the bride, most often by children following her wedding ceremony. She tied them to her bouquet and placed the whole lot next to the wedding cake during the wedding breakfast. I also read that the Celts sewed a horseshoe into the hem of the wedding dress for good luck. (This not only brought luck but also helped the dress hang properly). Have you ever wondered why a horseshoe was considered good luck in the first place? According to folk belief, iron held magical significance for the numerous Celtic tribes, and they thought it a lucky metal. Besides good luck, the Irish also believed the horseshoe to be a symbol of fertility. Following the wedding, the couple hung the horseshoe in their home, in the upright position like the letter ‘U’. This way luck gathered inside the U. (It’s worth noting that other societies believe the horseshoe should be hung upside-down to allow the luck to spill out on those who walk beneath it.

 

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Origins of the Handfasting Ceremony

Thinking of adding the symbolism of the handfasting ceremony to your wedding and would like to know more about it? As I delved into the history, I found many variations of this tradition, but the deeper I looked, the more I realized that much of what I thought I knew was, in fact, romanticized versions of handfasting “history.” For this post, first, I’ll include the embellished stories, and then for those interested in a more accurate account, I’ll offer that too.

Celtic handfasting

In ancient times, pagan worship included handfasting ceremonies and weddings. When the Celts migrated from Europe and settled in Britain around 7000 BC, they brought the ritual with them, and the practice continued well through the Tudor Period. 

Back then, handfasting wasn’t part of the wedding but took place a year and a day before the wedding. It represented a couple’s commitment to each other, as well as the intent to get married. The couple agreed to live in a binding relationship as a trial marriage for a year and a day. During this trial run, the couple learned whether or not they could survive married life together. When the time was up the couple either broke up or chose to marry permanently. This handfasting ceremony was performed in the presence of an upstanding member of the community like the local vicar, constable, or a wealthy landowner.

Handfasting in the British Isles

Handfasting was a custom practiced in the British Isles where it could be weeks or months before a clergyman stopped by rural villages. Here, handfasting was the equivalent to a common-law marriage of today. The bride and groom just clasped hands and professed themselves, husband and wife. Most of the time this was performed before witnesses and was referred to as an irregular marriage. As long as the bride and groom had reached the age of consent (12 for brides, 14 for grooms) and were not too closely related, irregular marriages were as valid as regular marriages. There were three types of irregular marriages:

1. Public declaration by the couple that they were husband and wife, followed by the consummation of the relationship
2. Mutual agreement
3. Living together and being recognized as husband and wife.

 

Christian handfasting ceremony

The influence of Christianity in the 16th century changed things up when it came to weddings. Many Protestant countries required a priest or minister for a marriage to be valid. In 1563 the Council of Trent did the same for the Roman Catholics. Marriage in the church became known as a regular marriage (valid marriage). The handfasting ceremony was performed by a clergyman and considered binding and legal in every way.

Where did the handfasting ritual come from?

It turns out that the origins of the handfasting ritual are found in Southern Scotland and Northern England Germanic. Their wedding customs succeeded Roman rites and consisted of two parts. First, the betrothal ceremony, followed by the giving away ceremony. The betrothal ceremony included a wedding contract where both sides agreed on terms. Once agreed upon, the contract was sealed with a handshake (clasping of hands--like all contracts were back then). The Anglo-Saxon term for this was “Handfæstung.” Similar terms are found in other Germanic languages. Over time, betrothals in Scotland and England became known as handfasting.

In the 1600s, after churches became involved, the wedding ceremony still took place outside the church. Some churches had a “marriage porch” for this purpose. Once the couple announced their consent before witnesses, including the priest, they clasped hands and kissed. Then all the people moved inside for the celebration of the Mass. (If the couple didn’t regularly attend church, they could wait and go to Mass the following Sunday, but this was not legally required.)

As for the idea of the year and a day trial marriage. It turns out that comes from modern romantic novels, and the concept was picked up by non-fiction writers (like me!) So handfasting with ribbons and cords wasn’t an ancient Celtic custom or even an ancient Scots custom. It turns out the handfasting ceremony we have today arose from a mix of old Germanic traditions (after conversion to Christianity), the romanticized concepts of modern writers like Sir Walter Scott, and old Scottish irregular marriages.

Meaning of handfasting today

With all this said, I still love the idea of the handfasting ceremony as we know it today. It still represents love and fidelity. Now that you know where it comes from, you can feel free to adopt it and make it your own. If you wonder where to start, check out the meaning of colors for handfasting cords. It can add another level of meaning between the bride and groom on their special day.

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Photo credit: Amazon, Amazon