Wedding Traditions and Superstitions

Enter the Monthly Sweepstakes Click Here

Wedding Traditions and Superstitions

Marcus Boomer, Staff Writer

Do you know why we throw rice on a bride after the ceremony? Do you know why the wedding ring goes on the left hand, ring finger? And why are there so many bridesmaids? Wedding traditions, as well as superstitions, are often looked over as inherent parts of the ceremony but overtime most people forgot where they came from. Here are some of the most common traditions and how they were developed.

 

Bridesmaids

Why does a bride have bridesmaids? Is it to keep her from running off at the last minute? Actually, ancient Egyptians believed, like many other cultures, that the bride and groom were most vulnerable to evil spirits and black magic during the ceremony. So to trick the evil spirits, a group of women would dress just as extravagant as the bride. From this tradition also grew the bridal flowers. To ward off evil spirits the bride would carry awful smelling herbs which evolved into the bouquet you see today.

 

The Best Man

The Dark Ages were a bleak time in European history. But one result of all the pillage and plundering was the tradition of the best man. Women were often kidnapped from their homes and forced to marry – sometimes on the spot. Sometimes without even a first date! But while the “ceremony” took place an extra man was needed to fend off the family. The best man, sword in hand, would sometimes give their life to help his friend get married. Thus a wonderfully barbaric tradition was born. Nowadays, you won’t see a best man give his life, but he is around more as support to the groom.

 

Take the Cake

Wedding cakes, as scrumptious as they are today, were not originally made to be eaten. In fact, you probably wouldn’t want to eat a cake made of wheat and barley anyway. The idea behind anything made of the harvest is to symbolize fertility. So after the ceremony, the cake would be smashed on the brides head to ensure she had many babies. Today, brides don’t appreciate being smashed with a cake and so the tradition has morphed into more of a photo opportunity.

 

Veil of Truth

Romans along with many ancient societies were fond of arranged marriages. They were usually set up for family growth and status increase but mainly to gain a financial stipend for the family. Fathers acted much quicker in giving away their brides, especially the less attractive ones. And to protect their investment, they would place a piece of thin cloth or silk over the brides face so the groom would not know what she looked like until after they were married. Thus, the unveiling was born.

 

The Ring Finger

Did you ever wonder why our ring finger is our third finger in from our pointer? Who thought of such an idea? Once again, the Romans played their part in changing marriage traditions for years to come. Romans believed your third finger contained a vein that lead directly to your heart. Also, by the time Christianity came around, the third finger represented the Holy Trinity. Also, just simply out convenience, the left hand was used because the right did all the work.

 

Tossing the Garter

One of the last traditions during the ceremony is tossing the garter. Now commonly used as a prank to get an unsuspecting best man to crawl up the groom’s leg, this medieval tradition was another way to protect the sanctity of the bride. The bridal party would usually sneak up to the bride’s room to steal her panties. In order to appease the crowd early on, the groom would toss the garter and cause a ruckus. While everyone was fighting for the undergarment, the loving couple would sneak away and begin, what was called then, primae noctis, or first night.

Enter for a chance to
Win the Monthly Sweepstakes*

Terms & Conditions

Advertising Technology Corporation ("ATC") Terms, Conditions & Privacy Policy for All Sweepstakes and Contests

ENTERING ANY CONTEST ON ATC IS ACKNOWLEDGING AND AGREEING TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

These terms and conditions, including privacy policy, describe the sweepstakes rules and regulations, including requirements for gift redemption sponsored by Internet Advertising Group, Inc. ATC is conducting an incentive based promotion to assist in the collection of data for use in connection with the Internet. ATC, Inc is solely responsible for the administration of this offer. The owners of trademarked names and merchandise used in our promotions do not sponsor and have not endorsed this promotion, nor are they affiliated with the promotion in any way. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners with all rights reserved.

To participate in ATC promotions, you must be at least 18 years old and a US resident. If you do not meet these requirements, we ask that you do not register with us. Receipt of the free gift requires completion of offer terms, including; age and residency requirements, registration with a valid email address, completion of offers from sponsored offer groups and shipping address verification.

Specific Terms and Conditions for ATC Promotions:

These General Contest Rules apply to all ATC contests or sweepstakes. They may be amended or varied from time to time by ATC. Special Terms and Conditions may apply to particular contests, in which case an addendum to these General Contest Rules will be made for that contest. Please enquire at ATC for any special Terms and Conditions for contests you wish to enter.

Unless otherwise specified in special contest Terms and Conditions, no person may enter any contest more than once.

All prizes must be collected within 3 months from the date of winning. After that time, unclaimed prizes will be dealt with according to legislative requirements. ATC will not notify winners of time remaining. It is the sole responsibility of winners to collect their prize.

Prizes must be claimed in person unless winner is otherwise advised. Identification which includes a photograph will be required (examples include drivers license/passport/student card where photo included). Where ATC elects to post a prize to a winner no responsibility will be accepted by ATC for the safe and effective postal delivery of the prize.

In special situations, and subject to the absolute discretion of ATC, a winner may nominate a designated representative to collect a prize. The representative will be required to present written authorization from the winner and identification which includes a photograph for both the winner and their representative.

In the event that a winner chooses not to accept a prize, they forfeit any and all claims to that prize, which will be dealt with according to the absolute discretion of ATC subject to legislative requirements.

Winners under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian when collecting their prize. Both the winner and the parent/guardian must sign this agreement and show identification which includes a photograph.

A copy of these General Contest Rules must be signed and endorsed by any winner upon request by ATC.

Prizes are non transferable, must (where applicable) be used on the dates specified and may not be redeemed for cash.

All prizes are accepted entirely at the risk of the winner, and ATC excludes all warranties in connection with any prize to the extent permitted by law.

ATC, its agencies, affiliates, sponsors and representatives are not responsible for defective prizes or misuse of any prize, or for any claims, liability, loss or damage arising out of or in connection with any contest promoted by ATC.

All contestants release from, and indemnify ATC against, all liability, cost, loss or expense arising out of acceptance of any prize(s) or participation in any contest including (but not limited to) personal injury and damage to property and whether direct or consequential, foreseeable, due to some negligent act or omission or otherwise.

If a specified prize becomes unavailable, ATC may substitute a replacement prize at its absolute discretion.

Unless otherwise specified, the class of travel for any travel prize incorporating an airfare is economy class.

Registrants and winners may be required by ATC to participate in a photo, video and/or film session and acknowledge that ATC has the right to use such publicity photos, videos and/or films in any medium and in any reasonable manner it sees fit, unless that person advises ATC at the time of entering the relevant contest that he/she wishes to retain his/her anonymity. Copyright in any such material becomes and remains the sole property of ATC.

A failure by ATC to enforce any of these General Contest Rules in any instance(s) will not give rise to any claim by any person.

ATC may terminate any contest at any time at its absolute discretion. In the event of such termination, ATC may at its absolute discretion elect not to award any prize in respect of the terminated contest.

Special restrictions or qualifications may apply to particular contests, in which case an addendum to these General Contest Rules will be made.

These General Contest Rules may be changed at any time by ATC.

ATC may publicize, broadcast or otherwise disclose a contestant/participant?s name, character, likeness, statements or any recording of their voice in advertising or promotional activities concerning a specific contest, or ATC contests/sweepstakes generally. ATC may promote or advertise that a winner has won a contest.

Winners are responsible for any and all taxes payable as a result of a prize being awarded or received.

ATC is not responsible for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects in part or whole, delays in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for any technical or non-technical network, telephonic, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate or partial transmission of or failure to receive entry information by ATC on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any web site or any combination thereof. ATC is not responsible for any injury or damage to contestants or any other person's computer related to or resulting from playing or downloading any materials in the ATC sweepstakes or contests. All entries become the property of ATC and will not be returned. ATC is not responsible for any claims, liabilities or damages in conjunction with the prize of the contest. ATC is not responsible for any claims liabilities or damages in conjunction with the process of meeting the contest rules. ATC reserves the right to disqualify contestants for any reason we deem fit and at any time. Contest rules and guidelines are subject to update and modification at anytime and for any reason.

Any intent by the entrant to misrepresent themselves through the use of aliases and e-mail addresses will be disqualified. Family, friends, and employees of companies (parent as well as subsidiary) that are sponsoring a contest are not eligible to enter. This Contest is void wherever prohibited by federal, state, provincial, municipal or local law.

Except where legally prohibited, acceptance of any prize constitutes permission for Sponsors to use the Participants' name, photograph, likeness, voice, address (city and state) and testimonials, in printed, broadcast media or new media, in perpetuity, in any manner they deem appropriate in connection with promoting this or any other Contest and/or promotion sponsored by them, without further compensation in connection with this Contest or the prize awarded.

ATC is based in the United States. Contests hosted on ATC are open to international residents unless noted, but legally binding to United States law only.

By participating, entrants agree that the Sponsors, those involved in the development, production (including prize suppliers), implementation and distribution of this promotion and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, and agencies, and their directors, officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any other person or entity associated with such entities and/or promotion shall not be liable for any and all claims, damages, losses or injuries, including any third party claims, arising from or relating to, in whole or in part, this Contest, including entry and participation is this Contest and acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the prizes. All entrants further agree that in the event of any third party claims, damages, losses or injuries, arising from or relating to this Contest, they will indemnify Sponsors from any and all such claims, including the attorneys' fees related thereto. Sponsors shall not be liable for entries and winner notification responses that are delayed, lost, misdirected, mis-delivered, marked postage-due, illegible, mutilated, incorrect or incomplete, and such entries will be not be eligible for this Contest. The Sponsors shall not be responsible for any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions or other failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human, mechanical or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from downloading any part of this Contest. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this Contest should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond their control corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. TheSponsors further reserve the right to modify the rules of the Contest in any way or at any time, as long as reasonable notice is given.

By participating in this contest, entrants agree that Florida courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to these sweepstakes and contests and that venue shall be only in Broward County, Florida.

This offer is available to US residents only. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. To receive the free gift you must complete all of the steps outlined herein. Participants, must: (a) register with a valid and deliverable email address; (b) submit accurate contact and demographic information.

ATC reserves the right to require individuals to provide documentation demonstrating they have completed the advertiser requirements prior to gift redemption in cases where that information is unavailable from the advertiser.

Updates. ATC may revise this Policy at any time in the future to (i) improve or modify the ATC Service, (ii) reflect future developments in ATC data information gathering, storing and release practices, (iii) comply with applicable laws, and (iv) reflect changes in ATC business structure. Accordingly, you should review these terms and policy from time to time to check for updates. Your continued use of the ATC website shall evidence your acceptance of any changes.

User does not need to register for any offer or advertisement to qualify for the prize. All users who enter their email, phone, and postal information will qualify.

If you do not accept the terms of this Policy, we ask that you not register with ATC. Your registration with ATC constitutes your acceptance of these terms and privacy policy.

By entering my contact information above, I certify that I agree to the privacy policy and the terms & conditions of this site
View full screen: Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

You must submit accurate and verifiable contact information and be 18 years or older to claim your proceeds.
Must be a valid resident of the USA.
If you change your mind, you can remove your information from our active database by clicking “Global Unsubscribe” at the bottom of any page throughout this site.