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Sugared almonds in fives, thirteen coins, a sixpence in the shoe, chestnuts caught in a skirt. Wedding traditions that wish couples luck, wealth and children.
Almost every culture has wedding customs meant to bring the couple luck, wealth and children. Some are objects, like Italian sugared almonds given in fives or the thirteen coins of las arras; some are actions, like smashing porcelain in Germany or catching chestnuts in Korea; and some are colours, like Chinese red. Most began as folk beliefs, and today couples keep them mainly for meaning and fun. Here are the best-known ones, grouped by what they wish for.
Something old, something new. The English rhyme "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe" appears to come from 19th-century Lancashire, according to Wikipedia's history of the rhyme. The earliest documented version is from 1876, and the sixpence, a coin for prosperity, was a later addition. Borrowed items were meant to pass on good fortune from a happily married couple.
Las arras. In Spanish, Mexican and Filipino Catholic weddings, thirteen coins are blessed and passed between the couple, a symbol of prosperity and of sharing everything they own.
Dates and chestnuts. At Korean pyebaek, the groom's parents throw jujubes and chestnuts that the bride catches in her skirt. Dates stand for daughters and chestnuts for sons, and the number caught is said to foretell how many children the couple will have. See Korean wedding traditions.
The seven steps. In a Hindu wedding, the couple take seven steps or rounds of the sacred fire, the saptapadi, each with a prayer: for food, health, wealth and strength, love and respect, children, a long life, and lifelong friendship. See Indian wedding traditions.
Pick ones with meaning to you. A grandmother's brooch as "something old" means more than a bought charm.
In Italy and Greece they are a traditional favour, often given in fives for happiness, health, long life, wealth and fertility.
It is the last line of the "something old" rhyme, a later Victorian addition, and the coin stands for prosperity.
Examples include the Korean pyebaek, where the bride catches dates and chestnuts, the Norwegian kransekake rings, the Greek custom of placing children on the couple's bed, and the pomegranate in Armenian symbolism.
Some are, such as las arras in Catholic weddings or the saptapadi in Hindu weddings. Many others, like the Polterabend or the sixpence, are folk customs with no religious meaning.
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