晨讀英語美文60篇39 Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!

The wedding tradition of “something old, something new, somethingborrowed, something blue” has been around for hundreds of years. Manybrides have been asked on their respective wedding days if they havegathered something old, new, borrowed and blue to carry with them asthey walk down the aisle. The tradition of carrying or wearing one ofeach item is said to bring luck and fortune to the newly marriedcouple. Have you ever stopped to think what the saying really means?What is its origin and what does each item represent?

The original saying dates back to the Victoria times and states,“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and asilver sixpence in your shoe.”

Something old... A bride may wear or carry something old torepresent her continued ties to her family and her old life. Manybrides wear a piece of family jewelry as their old item. Some brideswear the wedding dress worn by their mother or grandmother. In manycases, something old may also be something borrowed.

Something new... Wearing something new is su-pposed to representsuccess and hope in the bride’s new life and in her marriage. If thebride purchased her wedding dress new, it may represent her new item,but any item that is new may be used. Something “new” is usually theeasiest category1 to fill.

Something borrowed... The borrowed item should be somethingborrowed from a friend that is happily married. It is suggested thattheir happiness will rub off on2 you and bring lasting happiness toyour marriage. Some brides borrow an item of clothing, a piece ofjewelry, a handkerchief or perhaps a beaded purse.

Something blue... Wearing something blue dates back to biblical3times when a blue wedding dress was worn to represent purity, fidelity4and love. Over time this has changed from wearing a blue dress towearing just a blue band around the bottom of the bride’s wedding dressto modern times -- where it is commonplace for the bride to wear a bluegarter5.

Silver sixpence... Placing a silver sixpence in the bride’s leftshoe is said to be a symbol of wealth. This not only refers tofinancial wealth, but also a wealth of happiness and joy throughout hermarried life. Since most brides probably don’t even know what asixpence is, this part of the tradition is not used very often inmodern times. However, if a bride would like to include it in herwedding, she can purchase a silver sixpence from many companies thatsell bridal supplies such as garters and invitations.

Some brides are more traditional than other and may take a greatdeal of care in selecting one item for each category. It may betraditional for the women in their families to wear the same piece ofjewelry.

Other brides aren’t bound by tradition but still may choose tocarry out the custom at someone else’s request. If they don’t want tocarry numerous items, they may simply carry two handkerchiefs in asmall beaded bag -- they may choose to buy a new, white handkerchiefand borrow a blue one from a family member. That would provide themwith something new -- the white handkerchief, as well as something thatis old, borrowed and blue -- the blue handkerchief. The handkerchiefjust may come in handy6 during the wedding for drying their joyfultears!