 Romance/Love: May 24, 2006 Issue [#1052] |
  Romance/Love
This week: Edited by: Diane  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the Romance/Love newsletter. Each edition highlights stories and poetry on the site containing romance and love for your reading pleasure.
~ ~ Diane ~~
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Last month I spoke of dance as a mating ritual. This led me to think about other rituals or customs in the romantic world. In my research, I found a wealth of information on different customs around the world that could easily spark a new story or poem. I couldn't fit it all into this newsletter, so I selected a few wedding customs to focus on for this issue.
Romance happens all over the world and in different regions there are differing customs. One custom familiar to many would be the throwing of the bridal bouquet. This happens after the actual ceremony, the bride turns her back while a group of single women grapple for position behind her. She tosses the bouquet over her shoulder and the woman who catches it is supposed to be the next married out of that group. I couldn't find any statistical research on the outcomes, but I'd venture to guess this didn't always hold true!
This custom of tossing the bouquet stems from a combination of practicality and superstition. The bride was seen as a symbol of good luck on her wedding day and guests wanted to take a bit of that luck with them. Unfortunately for the bride, this "taking" came in the form of ripping portions of her wedding dress as a token to take home with them. Since the bride often wore her best dress to her wedding, this was distressing. The tossing of the bouquet, as well as the handing out of wedding favors, was created to head off those who would destroy her gown by giving them something containing bridal luck before they ran up and took it!
Another custom practiced in many parts of the world is carrying the bride over the threshold. Originally, the bride was kicking and screaming as she was stolen from her tribe or family. Once over the threshold or property boundaries, it appears the bride was his to keep! This evolved in some places into a bridal chase or game of hide and seek. The bride would disguise herself and hide on her parents property and the groom would seek her out, taking her to the church as a prize when discovered. Perhaps this tradition evolved into the current romantic "game" of playing hard to get!
After the wedding, the customs continue with the honeymoon. Most are familiar with the night of the wedding filled with intimacy and the act of fully giving yourself to your new spouse. This is similar to the origin of the custom, however, the honeymoon traditionally lasted a month! The term honeymoon is derived from the drinking of honey mead in order to increase fertility and attraction. The mead was consumed before retiring for the evening for a lunar month. If nothing else, the honey guaranteed a sweet kiss before turning in for the night!
Romantic customs are interesting and can trigger ideas for a story. For example, a tale of a stolen bride would be a wonderful start for a historical romance. In modern romance, customs give the reader a sense of familiarity. Most can relate to the tossing of the bouquet and throwing a little symbolism into the tale by weaving the custom into the plot could add interest. What customs do you include in your romance items?
Until Next Time,
Diane
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The editors work hard to make sure the newsletters are informative and enjoyable. We appreciate your responses.
 monty31802 - "An enjoyable Newsletter Diane. Romance is found in all places. I found it in Germany married over 44 years ago and the dance goes on."
I hope you enjoy the dance for many years to come, Monty! Thanks for the feedback.
Writing Exercise
Use a family tradition or cultural romance custom to build a scene in a romance story. Send me your scene and I'll include a link in my Romance/Love newsletter next month. Write On!
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