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Things that surprise you about the past

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Murihiku
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13 Dec 2013, 7:27 pm

A piece of history that surprises me ...

The traditional white wedding only became a mainstay after World War II. Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840 popularised the extravagant wedding ceremony and expensive, white gown. But until the late 19th century most Western brides were married at home dressed in their Sunday best, with home-made food served afterwards.

Professionally organised weddings held at public venues were the norm by the 1920s. Expensive diamond engagement rings became the standard after a marketing campaign by De Beers (which holds a monopoly on the global diamond trade), starting from the late 1930s. Simpler weddings made a comeback during WWII; but from the 1950s the full white wedding, in all its current splendour, became the norm across the Western world ... and increasingly around the world at large.

Fascinating stuff.


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Prof_Pretorius
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13 Dec 2013, 11:12 pm

richardbenson wrote:
The past keeps repeating itself. :wink:


According to Mark Twain, "the past does not repeat itself, it does however, rhyme."


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Moomingirl
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15 Dec 2013, 3:39 am

^^ That is interesting Murihiku. It just shoes that what we think is 'traditional' can be fairly recent, or even (my favourite conspiracy theory...) something sold to us by marketers.

This reminds me of my favourite scene in the 'Little House on the Prairie' books, when Laura gets married in her best dress. :D



equestriatola
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15 Dec 2013, 3:43 am

Murihiku wrote:
A piece of history that surprises me ...

The traditional white wedding only became a mainstay after World War II. Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840 popularised the extravagant wedding ceremony and expensive, white gown. But until the late 19th century most Western brides were married at home dressed in their Sunday best, with home-made food served afterwards.

Professionally organised weddings held at public venues were the norm by the 1920s. Expensive diamond engagement rings became the standard after a marketing campaign by De Beers (which holds a monopoly on the global diamond trade), starting from the late 1930s. Simpler weddings made a comeback during WWII; but from the 1950s the full white wedding, in all its current splendour, became the norm across the Western world ... and increasingly around the world at large.

Fascinating stuff.


Wow.......... weddings have become more lavish over the years.


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richardbenson
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16 Dec 2013, 1:24 pm

Prof_Pretorius wrote:
richardbenson wrote:
The past keeps repeating itself. :wink:

According to Mark Twain, "the past does not repeat itself, it does however, rhyme."

Indeed. :elephant:


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leafplant
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17 Dec 2013, 8:14 pm

what surprises me about the past customs is how commonplace human sacrifice used to be in many ancient civilisations. Or just sacrifice in general. I can never figure out why anyone would think that it works.