The history of mankind, or why a bride wears a white

Nowadays, there is a perception that the white color of the wedding dress represents the purity and youthfulness of the bride. In fact, this is just romantic speculation.

Once long ago the ancient people could not imagine a different social organization, in addition to the family. Generic relationships are fully determined by a person's life. People lived in huge families with lots of children, aunts, uncles, and parents. It was a BIG FAMILY or GENUS. The ancient mankind was one task — to survive as a species. People as a species have to keep their genes continue in the children. Therefore, race was the most viable human organization at this stage. One man's life was not for the kind of decisive importance. The main thing was barely hanging in the race as a whole.



Ancient people admired the ability of women to produce children. The role of men in procreation was not fully comprehended. It was believed that a child is at the behest of mysterious forces, or gods. It was believed, also, that at the time of birth between the afterlife and the living world appeared a hole, through which the world came a baby shower. That is, a woman through the birth as if communicating with otherworldly forces.

For the birth of healthy children of young women, mostly without their consent, given in marriage to another family. And so, as she went from the kind that she subsequently found not evil spirits, it kind of "died". Then she was being "reborn" and held a ceremony of introduction to the family of her husband. In ancient times, the color of mourning was white, because the bride was white. Hence, in many countries it is the custom to sing at weddings sad songs, lamenting the "death" of the bride to the family. Therefore, the bride takes her husband's name. Her maiden name is dying. So she calls her husband's parents "mother" and "father."



In ethnographic science there is a large area occupied with the study of the ceremonies accompanying the change of the social status of a person. These ceremonies and RITES of ANCESTRAL TRANSITIONS. So, for example, a well-known rite of initiation into the knights is through the blow of the sword on the shoulder, that is, through the death of the old life and the incarnation in the new title. You can also recall the baptism of a child with his nomination for a new name or a rite of passage, like monastic vows. As well as the initiation ceremonies of young men in man in many cultures.

Source: /users/1617