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Honeymoon Origin & Tradition
by Gloria Liven
- The term "honeymoon"
comes from the tradition of the bride dreaking mead, a drink made of
fermented honey, for a month before the wedding. Superstition had it
that it would assure fertility and that the first born was male.
- After the wedding,
it is a tradition for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold
of their new home, to bring good fortune by preventing the bride from
either tripping or stepping into their home on her left foot first,
which are considered unlucky.
- The "honeymoon"
could also be a tradition when a groom sneaked away with the bride;
they would hide from her family, get married, and after the marriage
spend one month drinking meade (honey wine).
- Honeymoons were
not always sweet. A groom would kidnap a woman to be his bride, and
the best man or groomsmen were there to help defend him. This is where
the term "swept off her feet" comes from-- a blanket would
often be thrown over the bride and she would be carried off on horseback.
The bride would be hidden for a month, after which time the family would
call off the search for her. To keep the bride calm she was given mead
(honey wine).
The practice of kidnapping a bride dates back to Atilla the Hun, AD 433-453.
- In Norse tradition,
the abducted women would often be kept for a month, at the end of which
she would often emerge pregnant or with a marred reputation, and her
family would have to consent to a marriage to save their reputation.
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