Many modern couples are incorporating ancient Roman wedding traditions and meanings into their own weddings – and guess what? It's nothing new! Wedding cakes, bouquet tosses and wedding parties, among others, were all ancient Roman wedding traditions that have been adapted to fit the needs of today's modern wedding.
Roman Wedding Traditions and Meanings: Engagement and Wedding Rings
Although they may have been used before the Romans, engagement rings and wedding rings became a wedding mainstay with the Roman wedding. The engagement ring had two purposes: it was given as a gift to the young bride and it helped the groom to claim the bride as his own. The bride often gave gifts, in the form of a dowry, to the groom, as well.
The wedding rings were used to symbolize an unending love. The circle shape of the ring also had no end, which held a couple of meanings for the Romans. Idealistically, they wanted to believe that the love developed through marriage would have no end. Realistically, the marriage itself would have no end before death, as divorce was not permitted in Roman culture.
The engagement rings and the wedding rings were worn on the third finger of the left hand, just as they are today. The Romans placed the rings on that finger because they believed that a vein ran from that finger straight to the heart.
Wedding Traditions and Meanings Among the Romans: The Wedding Party
The wedding party was an essential part of the matrimony ceremony in ancient Rome. The Romans believed that demons were out to get the married couple on their special day, and the wedding party's job was to protect the betrothed from those demons. The wedding party also dressed very similarly to the bride and groom in an effort to confuse the demons and keep them guessing as to who the bride and groom actually were.
In a similar vein, the groom always carried the bride across the threshold of his home. This was because the ancient Romans believed that the demons would try to trip the bride on the way into her new home.
The Cake in Roman Wedding Traditions and Meanings
The wedding cake originated in ancient Rome, as well. During the ceremony, the high priest always offered a gift to Jupiter, the chief god of the ancient Romans, and more often than not, this gift was wedding cake. Although the cakes were not decorated with icing and bright colors as they are today, they served a similar purpose.
After the priest had offered the cake to Jupiter, the groom would eat part of it and break the rest of the bride's head. The breaking of the cake was symbolic of the grooms dominance over the bride.
While these wedding traditions and meanings have morphed a bit since ancient times, each still has its roots in ancient Rome. These wedding traditions should be counted among the contributions given to the modern world by the ancient Romans, as weddings today could be much different without these traditions.
Resources:
Classics Unveiled.com. "Rome Exposed: Marriage and Customes and Roman Women." (accessed June 11, 2010).
UNRV History Website. "Roman Weddings" (accessed June 11, 2010).
Kristen Nichols - Kristen is a freelance reporter and copywriter covering Olympic and Paralympic sport for Suite101.com. Kristen's love of sport developed ...
