The wedding is one of the most important days in a person’s life, the one that, for better or worse, will be remembered forever. But, have you ever wondered how marriage is celebrated in another country? What is its origin, its history?
Often, we tend to look only in the limit of our own garden, missing the wonders of our neighbor’s. Discovering, knowing, exploring, enriches the mind, the soul. To this day, marriage is seen as a party occasion, a rite, which can be religious or civil, that unites two people who love each other and kicks off an interminable ceremony. Other countries also celebrate, but some have different cultures and there are different customs on the wedding day. Learn more about the history of marriage and how it is celebrated elsewhere.
The origin of marriage
Theorigin of marriage has its roots in prehistory. The word marriage is derived from the Latin matrimonium . The root of the word is mater and, in ancient times, mater referred to the bond that made legitimate the children born from the union of a man with a woman. Initially, the woman had no right to speak, could not choose whom to love and whom not to love, whom to marry and whom to reject. It was the family that decided for her and her father, especially. Arranged marriages have always been an unusual tradition for many because love is supposed to be free, yet many young women found themselves betrothed to a strange man, even one much older than themselves. People always tried to match their daughter with a wealthy future spouse so that they would have economic happiness in the family. In almost every country and culture, the rule of women’s submission to the will of the father was in force. As in Greece, where marriage could only be performed after a contract was established between the bride’s father and her future husband. Generally, the month of January was chosen for the ceremony. And do not believe that the celebration took place in the same way as those we are used to nowadays, because, in cases like these, there were large banquets accompanied by purifying baths and animal sacrifices. Real rituals to remark on their traditions. The same was true inAncient Rome, where spouses met for the first time directly on their wedding day. It is from here that the tradition of the use of faith begins to spread.
Among the various types of marriage in cultures is that ofancient Egypt. In this case, there was perfect equality between men and women, and there were no strings attached when it came to relationships, because everyone could marry whomever they wanted and whomever they loved, regardless of the family’s thinking. It was customary, however, for a gift to be given by the groom and a dowry to be given by the bride. In the Middle Ages, however, marriage became a real contract. Because the outlook of life was much lower, people got married young, very young, without having known and lived enough before. Marriage in history has undergone several changes, several transformations. Even today, unfortunately, there are countries where young women are betrothed to unknown adult men and cannot marry the ones they really love. Some times, they do not even have a chance to find out what love is, because they cannot live their sexuality freely. In most of the world, however, marriage is celebrated to unite two people who love each other, and parties and ceremonies are made according to taste, tradition, and custom. A great event to plan, even with an industry professional by your side to guide you through the theme, location, arrangements and whatnot.
Famous weddings
There is the history of marriages, and then there are marriages that have made history. Among the famous weddings to be fondly remembered is the one between Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who tied the knot in 1981. Lady D wore a wedding dress made by designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, with 40 meters of silk and thousands of pearls. There were 2,500 guests at the ceremony, while there were more than 750 million viewers who watched the wedding live.
Staying with the royal family theme, William, eldest son of Charles and Diana, and Kate Middleton were married in 2010. Kate’s wedding dress depopulated and became a role model for brides in later years. Again, the ceremony was watched worldwide by a total of 2.5 million people.
The one between Grace Kelly and Europe’s most coveted bachelor, the Prince of Monaco, is also one of the marriages still remembered with pleasure by the whole world. The actress’ elegance and beauty have remained etched in the collective imagination, as has her wedding dress, still an inspiration to many designers today.
