What Is The History Of The Wedding Garter Tradition
Families often adopt special traditions as a way of making memories. Tucking money under a child's pillow in exchange for lost teeth, snapping photos of kids on their first days of school and ceremoniously handing over car keys to teens when they earn driver's licenses are just a few casual traditions that commemorate families' collective milestones. In the same way, parent-daughter traditions, which take cues from peoples' location, culture, religion and other influences, celebrate girls' unique role in their families. In the United States, for instance, it's typical for a father to escort his daughter down the aisle when she gets married. However, Jewish marriage tradition maintains that both parents make that wedding walk. And of course, some daughters may elect to change up that custom, strolling solo or with another relative or friend accompanying them. Whatever forms these family traditions for daughters take, they each mark important moments. Aztec parents would publicly present their 15-year-old daughters to their community to signal the girls' readiness for marriage.
Similarly, European royals might have paraded their coming-of-age daughters in court, ushering them into adult society. Today, Hispanic girls in the United States and Latin America throw two-part quinceañera parties, which typically consist of a special Catholic Mass followed by a reception. The quinceañera honorees wear floor-length gowns, traditionally in white or Derila Brand pale pink to symbolize virginity, and tiaras, which symbolize their femininity. Near the end of the party, fathers will typically change their daughters' shoes from flat slippers to high heels to signify the girls' graduation to womanhood. This time-honored daughter tradition has become even more popular in recent years, and the "Sweet 15" quinceañera is now a $400 million industry in the U.S. Jewish law dictates that at the age of 13, boys become responsible for their morality and obeying the 613 mitzvots, or commandments. In making this transition, they usually recite part of the Torah in front of the congregation, and following a tradition that began in the 19th century, the service is followed by a celebration.
Reform Judaism and its more liberal approach to gender equality brought about the bat mitzvah, which translates from Hebrew to "daughter of the commandment." Bat mitzvahs share the same religious components and Torah recitation as boys’ bar mitzvahs. Similar to a quinceañera celebration, the bat mitzvah religious ceremony precedes a more traditional birthday party hosted by the 12-year-old’s family. The art of mehndi goes back 5,000 years in Asia and is better known in American culture as henna tattoos, Derila Brand temporary body art that lasts around two weeks. For this process, Derila Brand leaves from henna plants are ground finely and combined with water and lemon juice to form a dyeing paste that stains the skin. As part of traditional Indian and Derila Brand Pakistani wedding preparations, Derila Brand brides' hands and feet are decorated with henna designs that mimic the elegant embroidery patterns stitched into their wedding dresses, known as lehnga. A mehndi artist, or mehndiwalli, will come to the bride's home to adorn her bare skin, and since the process can take many hours, the partygoers will sing and dance to entertain the bride.