Just in Time for St. Patrick's Day--Irish Wedding Superstitions

From "The Traditional Irish Wedding", an excellent book all about Irish Weddings by Bridget Haggerty, here are a few superstitions that portend good luck for the marriage:

• A fine day means good luck, especially if the sun shone on the bride
• A man should always be the first to wish joy to the bride, never a woman
• To hear a cuckoo or to see three magpies on the wedding morning was lucky
• The wedding party should always take the longest road home from the church
• It was said to be lucky if you married during a "growing moon and a flowing tide"
• When leaving the church, someone must throw an old shoe over the bride's head so she will have good luck
• If the bride's mother-in-law breaks a piece of wedding cake on the bride's head as she enters the house after the ceremony, they will be friends for life.

And as for selecting the day of the week for the wedding:

Monday for health,

Tuesday for wealth,

Wednesday the best day of all,

Thursday for losses,

Friday for crosses and

Saturday no day at all.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Interesting Irish Wedding Traditions

The first several months of the year, many brides are making plans for their upcoming weddings in the summer months. If you are planning an Irish wedding, here are a few traditions you might like to include, courtesy of my friend, Reverend David Beronio. You’ll find more traditions at his website.

In the early 1900's, an Irish couple would walk to church together on their Wedding Day. If the people of their parish approved their union they would throw rice, pots, pans, brushes and other household items at the couple as they approached their church. Today, "hen parties" (Bridal Showers) have replaced this practice. 

Some Irish people wear a "claddagh" ring for a wedding ring. A master goldsmith, Richard Joyce, created this ring 400 years ago in a fishing village called Claddagh, which  overlooks Galway Bay. The claddagh symbolizes love, loyalty, and friendship. On the right hand, with the heart facing inward, it means the wearer's heart is unoccupied. Facing outwards reveals love is being considered. When worn on the left hand facing outward, it signifies that the wearer is seriously committed or married. 

At some Irish wedding receptions, the Groom is lifted in a chair ("jaunting car") to celebrate that he is a married man. For good luck, the newlyweds are given a horseshoe to display in their home in the upward position. A traditional Irish wedding cake is a fruitcake covered with icing. Traditional Irish toasts, in addition to remarks from the Best Man, are very popular.

Irish Marriage Blessing

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness.

From this day forward.

Have your own Irish wedding traditions to add? You are welcome to comment....Next time: Scottish wedding traditions.

Harvest Love Knots

"Drawing by John Roos ©2005"

In Northern Ireland, young men and women would take long braids of straw and twist them into deocrative knots. These harvest knots were then given as love tokens for men to wear on their lapels and women to wear in their hair. When one's lover accepred a harvest knot, it was assumed that a wedding would follow in the next spring.

Today, love knots are made with raffia and adorned with flowers and colorful ribbons. They are used as a boutonniere for the groom, worn in the bride's hair, attached to the bride's bouquet, and even used as napkin rings for the reception feast.

Copyright © 2005 by Anne Roos, excerpt from the liner notes to "Haste to the Wedding" CD, available on the Cambria Master Recordings Label. All rights reserved.

The Irish Hanky

Irish brides usually carry a linen handkerchief down the aisle to catch their bridal tears, a custom that may have started bylinen companies in Norhern Ireland.

These companies suggest that the hanky cam be saved as a christening bonnet for the couple's first baby and that the child can in turn, use the hanky for her own wedding. In this way, the hanky turns into a family heirloom as it carries many generations of tears of happiness. Tying a piece of rosemary to this family hanky symbolizes remembrance of those who used it in the past.

Copyright © 2005 by Anne Roos, excerpt from the liner notes to "Haste to the Wedding" CD, available on the Cambria Master Recordings Label. All rights reserved.