by Unwirklich VinZant

Created on: October 02, 2009   Last Updated: November 29, 2009

A wedding is a time for celebration, but also can be a time filled with apprehension, excitement and stress. As a result this milestone of life has its own special ring of superstitions to offer to obtain luck, hope and happiness for the marriage.

Perhaps the best known wedding superstition is that the bride should wear something blue, something borrowed, something new, something old and a sixpence in her shoe. (A dime these days). Believe it or not there is an explanation to this seemingly random list.

Blue: is considered to represent faithfulness, good luck and consistency. Once upon a time it was also consider the color or purity.

New: Optimism for the future.

Old: A connection to ones past so it's not forgotten.

Borrowed: Reminder of the love of our friends and family.

The coin: Marriage is expensive!

Another common occurrence at even modern day weddings is tying cans to the bride and grooms car. Did you ever wonder why that was done? To scare away evil spirits. It's believed that the loud noises keep the couple safe as they exit for their honeymoon. Think that's weird? The groom is supposed to lift the bride over the threshold to protect her from gremlins.

My favorite wedding superstitions are symbols, things or items that are seen on the day of the wedding that are said to bring good, or bad luck to the couple. In my mind this may have come about as a way to both distract the bride and groom from their worries by playing scavenger hunt so to speak, or to bring confidence. Perhaps the bad luck items were made up by folks that had cold feet and were looking for an out, either way, the list is long.

Signs of good luck:

Lambs, Frogs, Doves, Black Cats, Policemen, Doctors, Blind men, Rainbows and Sunshine, Pigeon, Wolf, Goat, Spiders, Tears, A Full Moon, An Open Umbrella, and Snow.

Signs of bad luck:

Lizards, Pigs, Funeral Processions, A Pregnant Woman, A Nun or a Monk and a bat in the church.

The list of superstitions surrounding marriage and weddings is endless and varies greatly from location, to culture, to time. The above is just a glimpse at a few that are about the same everywhere. Either way, rest easy and forget the silly superstitions if your hearts said "yes" your marriage will be long, happy and full of love. Congratulations.

Sources:

http://www.squidoo.com/wedding_traditions

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/88443_wedding-superst itions

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