Listening 25 – Listen for specific words

Today it’s traditional for brides to carry a beautiful bouquet of flowers on their wedding day – but originally, the bouquet was for its scent, not for its beauty. It consisted of fragrant herbs which were believed to ward off evil spirits and bad by their strong aroma. The herbs were later by roses and other flowers that are more pleasing to the eye.

In modern weddings, the bride’s bouquet and garter are tossed into the waiting hands of guests – and it is said that whoever them will be the next to marry. This tradition dates back to medieval Europe, where it was believed that having a piece of the bride’s clothing would bring good luck – and sometimes a mob of overeager guests literally the clothing off the bride! Brides began throwing the bouquet and garter in order to appease the guests and prevent them from leaving her dress and in tatters.

Wedding dresses weren’t always white – in the past, women would simply get married in the best dress they , whatever its color. Many people believe that white is used because it represents purity, but it was actually a of wealth – white fabrics were among the most expensive. Queen Victoria was the one who popularized the white wedding dress, wearing one for her wedding in 1840.

What about the wedding veil? In marriages, the veil served to hide the bride’s face from the groom until after the ceremony – to prevent him from backing out if he didn’t like what he saw. At the time, marriages were seen as transactions and ways to form alliances between families – and this is why we have the tradition of the bride’s father walking her down the aisle, to “ownership” of the woman to her husband-to-be.

In American weddings, the bride is accompanied by several female friends or who are called bridesmaids. Many centuries ago, the bridesmaids were actually dressed nearly identically to the bride – they were intended to be decoys that would evil spirits (or jealous suitors) who might want to ruin the wedding day!

The tradition of the groomsmen – the male friends/relatives who accompany the groom – has a somewhat sinister origin. In sixteenth-century Europe, if there were not enough women in the local area, men would visit a neighboring town and capture a woman to marry. The group of friends would assist the groom in kidnapping the woman and fighting off her justifiably relatives.

Did you know that originally, the wedding cake was not eaten, but instead at the bride or broken over her head? It was made of wheat, which represented fertility and , and guests would eat only a few crumbs for good luck. Later, a new custom arose in the British Isles: biscuits and cakes were stacked on top of each other, and the couple had to each other over the growing pile. A French chef later transformed this mound of baked goods into a work of art – the iced, multi-tiered wedding cake.

The tradition of exchanging wedding rings may have originated in ancient Egypt, where would give each other rings made of braided grasses and reeds. We can thank the Romans for the custom of wearing wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand. They believed that this finger a vein that led directly to the heart. Although later studies of anatomy disproved this notion, the tradition endures to this day.

As for engagement rings, these became popular in the 13^th century, after the Pope issued a decree establishing a waiting period between a betrothal and a wedding. At the time, engagement rings were made with various gemstones and inscribed with poems or love messages. The of the diamond engagement ring today is due to the DeBeers diamond company, which single-handedly established a tradition with a very advertising campaign using the slogan, “A Diamond is Forever.”