Tuesday, May 11, 2010

What is the purpose of a veil in a Christian marriage ceremony?

I've googled the purpose but I cant seem to find a clear awnser, does anyone know?





Thankyou :DWhat is the purpose of a veil in a Christian marriage ceremony?
This is what wikipedia and various other sites state.





';An occasion on which a Western woman is likely to wear a veil is on her wedding day, if she follows the traditions of a white wedding. Brides used to wear their hair flowing down their back at their wedding to symbolise their virginity, now the white diaphanous veil is often said to represent this.





It is not altogether clear that the wedding veil is a non-religious use of this item, since weddings have almost always had religious underpinnings, especially in the West: in the Christian tradition this is expressed in the Gospel passage, ';What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder'; (Mt. 19:6). Veils, however, had been used in the West for weddings long before this. Roman brides, for instance, wore an intensely flame-colored and fulsome veil, called the flammeum, apparently intended to protect the bride from evil spirits on her wedding day.





The lifting of the veil was often a part of ancient wedding ritual, symbolising the groom taking possession of the wife, either as lover or as property, or the revelation of the bride by her parents to the groom for his approval.





In ancient Judaism the lifting of the veil took place just prior to the consummation of the marriage in sexual union. The uncovering or unveiling that takes place in the marriage ceremony is a symbol of what will take place in the marriage bed. Just as the two become one through their words spoken in wedding vows, so these words are a sign of the physical oneness that they will consummate later on. The lifting of the veil is a symbol and an anticipation of this. In the story in the Book of Genesis, a man named Laban tricks Jacob into marrying the wrong woman. Because of the heavy veil that was not raised until after the union was complete, Jacob married the older and homelier of Laban's daughters, Leah, instead of the young and beautiful Rachel, whom he loved. The deceit resulted in Jacob eventually having both as his wives. The story also resulted in the Jewish practice where a groom lowers the veil before the ceremony and lifts the veil before the kiss. This practice is known as badeken.





In the Western world, St. Paul's words concerning how marriage symbolizes the union of Christ and His Church may underlie part of the tradition of veiling in the marriage ceremony.';


What is the purpose of a veil in a Christian marriage ceremony?
Over time, the veil became a symbolic means of assuring the husband and his family of the bride's virtue. The lifting of the veil during the ceremony signified that the groom was ';taking possession'; of his wife by seeing her face. In some traditions, it served the dual purpose of symbolically ';revealing'; the bride to the groom's family.



It isn't actually a Christian thing. In fact, churches allow a bride to wear a veil only under certain circumstances- it cannot hide her face. It is a cultural thing, with a couple of reasons given. One is that it symbolizes purity and virginity (she is untouched by men's eyes even). The other reason I've seen, and I believe this is a later one, is that a woman is supposed to be so beautiful on her wedding day, that any man who sees her will try to kidnap her for his own, so the veil is for her own protection.





As for why it's not really approved of by the church, there is a Bible story where a man marries the wrong sister, not the one he wanted to marry. So there are rules against marrying someone without them being able to clearly see you.
It comes from an old superstition that a woman should wear a veil to hide herself from evil spirits that may tempt her on her wedding day...no joke!
I am not 100% certain of my answer I but i believe it dates back centuries when the Bride was expected to be a virgin and so the veil was considered as a way of showing her future husband she was still a virgin
Not sure of this one but remember reading something about the woman being 'unveiled' as a wife after the nuptials have taken place, rather than the single woman she walked into the church as.
i think its meant to symbolise only letting the groom kiss the bride or something.

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