You've probably seen a bride throw her bouquet and the unmarried guests fight fiercely for it.
This sweet ritual hides a dark past, where instead of flowers, underwear was sent flying!
It turns out that the roots of the tradition go back to the era when wedding celebrations resembled a frank reality show with stripping and obscene ditties.
In medieval Europe, the main entertainment for guests was not cake or the first dance. After the vows in church, the newlyweds were literally dragged to the bedroom amid loud shouts and obscene jokes.
For example, in 15th century England it was believed that the louder the guests banged dishes and sang obscene songs, the more fertile the couple would be.
But the culmination was the “bed ritual”: the bride and groom were stripped down to their shirts, and their clothes were torn into pieces – a piece of dress was believed to bring good luck.
The bride's garters were considered a special trophy. Men fought for them, because according to legend, such a trophy guaranteed a quick marriage.
In Switzerland, for example, the groom himself would take the garter off his beloved's leg and throw it into the crowd while the guests shouted out ambiguous wishes. And in 17th-century France, high society ladies would specifically wear six garters to please all the guests.
By the 19th century, prudish Victorians decided that throwing away underwear was too vulgar.
The bouquet became an elegant replacement for garters, although in remote villages of Germany as late as the 1920s, brides shouted: “Catch the stockings!” instead of rose petals.
Today, the tradition has acquired a romantic aura, but if you look closely at the excitement of the unmarried bridesmaids, you will still see in their eyes the shadow of medieval maidens tearing the silk trophy from each other’s hands.
So next time you see a flying bouquet, remember: once upon a time, a lace garter might have been in its place, and the “lucky woman” had to not only catch the flowers, but also fight off a crowd eager to get hold of a piece of her underwear.
Times change, but the thirst for wedding trophies is eternal!
Author: Elena Shimanovskaya