Fun Facts About Marriage

The first curiosity about marriage is that the place where it was legally formalized and definitely instituted was in Rome. There, men could marry after their 14th birthday and women after 12 years of age.

It is precisely from Ancient Rome that the custom of matrimonial alliances comes. The reason for this is another curiosity about marriage. At that time, it was  believed that there was a vein in the ring finger that reached the heart.  In fact, this belief remained for several centuries.

The white dresses of brides only appeared in 1840. Before that year, women were married in any color. It was Queen Victoria who wore full white and since then it has been instituted as a tradition. She was also the first to use the bridal march. Next, we’ll talk about other facts about marriage.

marriage in history

One of the great curiosities about marriage is that  this tradition has not been linked to love for most of history. From Roman times to the 19th century, it was an exclusively civil institution whose effects were basically patrimonial. People married “coldly” to ensure economic stability.

This happened not only among the families of the aristocracy, but in all social strata. Marriage was an agreement between the father of the bride and the groom. Economic and social convenience were evaluated, not sentimental aspects. Divorce was unacceptable in most countries until the mid-twentieth century.

When the idea of ​​romantic love began to take hold,  the places to find a partner were balls, in the wealthy classes, and fairs in the most popular sectors. Everyone knew that people went there looking for a future husband or wife. Another option was to start looking at each other in temples during religious services.

It was formerly considered wrong for a woman to flirt or show interest in a man. In theory, they had to behave indifferently to show they were respectable maidens. However, this did not stop a whole language of love being created between men and women through fans, scarves and umbrellas. Every gesture with these implements had a meaning for the person in question.

Fun facts about marriage: traditions

Many of the fun facts about marriage have to do with the traditions that accompany this ritual. All over the world there are particular ways to express the desire for the couple to be happy and to make a celebration of love. Let’s look at some of these traditions:

• In Fiji, it is customary to ask for the hand of the bride in an unusual way. The consort must bring the father a whale’s tooth. This is proof of courage, but above all, true love.
• The Polterabend in Germany. Before the ceremony, the couple’s friends and family get together to do something very special: breaking china. This is supposed to bring good luck to the bride and groom.
• In South Korea, they are more… intense. It is customary for the groom’s friends to come and tie his feet during the wedding feast. Then they hit the soles of their feet with a fish. For them, this is a way to test the character of the newlywed.

• In Russia, they choose to kidnap the bride. Yes: they kidnap her. The guests hold her and ask the groom to ransom her. Sometimes it’s symbolic, but sometimes… not so much. Once payment is cleared, the bride is released.
• Blackening  or darkening of the bride and groom. This tradition is Scottish and takes place on the eve of the wedding. The couple’s friends smear the bride and groom with mud and make them parade through the streets. It is supposed to be a way of letting the couple know that they will be happy, but will also have a difficult time.
• The Swedish kisses. This is one of the funniest trivia about marriage. In Sweden, during the wedding party, if the bride gets up from the table and leaves the room, all the girls can kiss the groom on the cheek. When the man gets up and leaves the place, the boys do the same with the bride.

The latest curiosity about marriage is that this institution was relatively stable until the 1960s. The invention of contraceptives and the introduction of divorce in the United States caused separations to increase by 100% between 1966 and 1969. Later, this same movement was repeated in many other countries around the world.