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Have you ever wondered where getting married and having a wedding ceremony originated from? Why we were a special wedding dress? The first civilisation that recognised the idea of marriage in law was Ancient Egypt. It then wasn’t long before other civilisations soon followed and began to create wedding laws and rules in their own cultures. Getting married was seen as a stabilising and positive factor in society. It was the Roman Empire that passed on the word “matrimony”, which means marriage.
Thousands of weddings take place each day of the year all over the world. Many wedding traditions have been formed over the years that have become personal and unique to certain cultures and religions. However there is one particular element that is featured in the large majority of weddings and is a key feature, this being the bride’s wedding dress.
Wearing a white wedding dress has been the traditional colour a bride would wear on her wedding day for sometime now in the UK, however wedding dresses have not always been white. A bride would simply have worn her ‘best dress’ When Queen Victoria married Albert in 1840 it became a hugely influential wedding day more than any other, and after her wedding photograph was published many brides wanted to follow in her footsteps. She opted to incorporate some lace into her wedding gown that she prized, and the colour of this dictated the colour of her dress – white. Although many brides continued to get married in gowns of different colourways, white is still a popular colour choice, with it seen to symbolise virginity. “Custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one.” is a quote from Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1949.
Around the world, brides of various cultures get married in an array of all colours from the rainbow. Different colours have different meanings, however universally white is commonly known for purity, black is for death and purple and gold are for royalty. Bright yellow is a colour worn in Morocco as it is believed to scare away the evil eye, and good luck is received by choosing to wear the colour of plants – green. African brides represent their villages by incorporating patterns and colours into their wedding gown and in Chinese women often wear red as their wedding dress or alternatively choose red wedding shoes as it is their colour of joy and good luck.
White is a colour worn around the world by Jewish brides to be and in Israel as it is seen to represent spiritual purity and clarity. The colour blue is believed to embody mystical powers. The white wedding dress tradition is continued in Japan where many brides choose to wear a white silk wedding kimono which is lined in red. This is to symbolise happiness and a new beginning.
In Spain, Roman Catholic brides show their lifetime devotion by wearing black wedding dresses and mantillas made of lace. Amazing gold thread embroidered silk saris are worn in India, these dresses are either red or white with a red border or can be a mixture of yellow, green and white. Koreans wear a lime-green wonsam or hwarrot which is worn over the traditional wedding dress, the hanbok. The womsam and hwarrot are embroidered with flowers and butterflies, and are banded with red, symbolising heaven; indigo, for earth; and yellow for humanity. The bride’s hands are covered in white, the symbol of respect.
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Source by Todd W Cassidy
