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It’s a Wedding!

Money-Dancing and Broom-Jumping

Pastor's Companion for Weddings and Fune... (by Seymour, Robert Gillin, 1841-)
The Wedding Day in Literature and Art [m... (by Carter, Charles Frederick)
Their Wedding Journey (by Howells, William Dean, Editor)
The Wedding Guest (by Arthur, Timothy Shay)
Manners and Social Usages (by Sherwood, John M. E. W., Mrs.)

Eternal bliss and merriment, sanctity and partnership, familial and personal love: they’re all represented when newlyweds speak their vows. Brides wear beautiful gowns, rings are exchanged, and a kiss seals forever the bond between husband and wife.

Weddings transform strangers into family. The occasion is celebrated (and re-celebrated) all around the world, and oftentimes the convergence of different cultures shape the traditions of the newly minted couple.

The mythological origin of Chinese weddings provides insight into a custom still practiced in some villages. Siblings Nuwa and Fu Xi, living in a severely underpopulated world, sought blessings from the heavens. At the Kunlan Shan, the longest mountain range in Asia, they prayed for a signal proving that their love would not end in disgrace. If their union was to be blessed, the mountains’ mist would surround them. The heavens consented and Nuwa, the bride, used a traditional Chinese fan to cover her blushing face.

The tradition of the unity candle, most common in the United States, represents the joining of families, or individuals, becoming singular in their commitment. The bride and groom each use a lighted taper candle to ignite a larger pillar candle. The tradition, neither religious nor standard in Anglican or Catholic weddings, demonstrates a connection based in a love sanctioned only by the lovers and their families. In some anniversaries the candles are reused, relighting and reaffirming the passion married couples have for each other.

The money dance, which originated in Poland (in the early 1900’s), is practiced around the world. In Nigeria, during the first dance of the wedding, guests adorn brides, grooms, and, in some instances, the mothers of the bride and groom, with small denomination bills, pounded sterling jewelry, and other ornaments created from paper money. John M.E.W. Sherwood details many marital traditions in Manners and Social Usages. Varied money dance rituals are popular in the Ukraine, Mexico, the United States, the Philippines, and Yugoslavia, where guests pin money to the best man for safekeeping.

Wedding cakes have become a staple in weddings around the world. Originally in Medieval England, cakes were erected as high as possible. Separated by the cake, the bride and groom were to lean in and kiss each other without disturbing the confection. A successful kiss guaranteed a long, loved filled life together.

Novels, films, plays, and music chronicle nuptial traditions. A 2011 film Jumping the Broom, directed by Salim Akil, borrows its title from a tradition performed in some African-American communities. Couples, either separately or joined by hand, leap over brooms. Once safely on the other side, their union is solidified.

The tradition was borne in Ghana, where brooms were waved over newlyweds’ heads. Since slaves in the American South were not legally allowed to wed, jumping the broom in the presence of wedding guests afforded a sense of confirmation in these circles.

Wedding traditions make these occasions memorable. William Dean Howells’ Their Wedding Journey and T. S. Arthur’s The Wedding Guest provide magnificent context about the styles, traditions, and even the fallacies inherent in marriage practices. Each wedding, and the traditions therein, mark a monumental accomplishment celebrated not only by the new couple, but by the friends and family fortunate enough to witness them.

By Logan Williams