Wedding NotesTM

 

According to June Jenkins, an expert on the

history of wedding traditions, “A Kiss for Luck”

is more than just a memorable lyric from a

Carpenter’s tune. She maintains that “kissing

began when men of Greece wanted to know if

their ladies were drinking wine on the sly and a

kiss on the mouth provided them with evidence.”

But it is more likely that the tradition

was established at the conclusion of early marriage

ceremonies. It was customary for the

priest to give a benediction kiss to the groom.

The groom would then kiss the bride. The priest

and groom both kissed the attendants and they

in turn kissed the wedding guests. Even today,

weddings are filled with lots of hugs and kisses.

European superstitions maintained that it was

lucky for a bride to see a chimney sweep (think

Dick Van Dyke in MARY POPPINS) on the way

to church. It was especially lucky if the chimney

sweep would stop and offer good wishes. If he

chose to kiss the bride, happiness was “practically

guaranteed”. The superstition was so widespread

that frequently chimney sweeps were

paid to be present when a bride went by.

It became popular for the groom to kiss the

bride to seal the marriage contract. But in order

to insure a happy marriage, the bride had to cry

after the kiss or her marriage would be filled

with tears.

In the Middle Ages, many of the people were

illiterate and unable to sign their name.

Therefore, they made an X in place of their signature.

No legal documents were considered

legal without the X. To show good faith, they

would kiss the X in the same way that they

kissed the Bible when taking an oath. In time the

X became the universal symbol of affection and

the kiss. An enterprising romantic later added

the O and we now have XOXOXOX s on letters,

notes and text messages.