500 Wedding Ideas
What is the myth behind brides - "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."
This is for a college paper I am writing. How has this affected North American culture and you individually?
Public Comments
- "Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue And a silver sixpence in her shoe." A sixpence is a coin that was minted in Britain from 1551 to 1967. It was made of silver and worth six pennies. So this wedding tradition is definitely English, and many sources say that it began in the Victorian era. Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. "Something old" symbolizes continuity with the bride's family and the past. "Something new" means optimism and hope for the bride's new life ahead. "Something borrowed" is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like, "Marry in blue, lover be true." And finally, a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe represents wealth and financial security. It may date back to a Scottish custom of a groom putting a silver coin under his foot for good luck. For optimum fortune, the sixpence should be in the left shoe. These days, a dime or a copper penny is sometimes substituted, and many companies sell keepsake sixpences for weddings. http://ask.yahoo.com/20031027.html
- You missed the final line, a silver sixpence in her shoe. The silver sixpence in her shoe was originally getaway money provided by thoughtful fathers in a time where married women had no property rights. Sixpence then was enough money to get the girl home to her parents if her husband treated her badly. I was married in America this year and found nobody here had any idea about that part of the rhyme. My fiance provided me with a silver dollar as my father died some time ago. My foot hurt like hell walking round all day with a dollar in my shoe. I keep all the things I used in a little box except for the something borrowed, I was lent a ring and tied it into my bouquet with a silk ribbon so added the ribbon to my memory box. I don't know if it's a North American custom but a relative of my new husband gave me a hand carved box to keep everything in with my new married name on the box. I never heard of anything like this back in the UK but I thought it was a charming idea.
