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Originally posted by Dequibenzo
Okay, how's this- the modern idea of marriage and all the traditions associated with it is a product of distinctively modern- and by modern I mean the last century or so- society, and, with the gradual secularization of culture en mass, so has gone marriage. Remember- Secular means everything EXCEPT religion, so any meanings that have become affixed to marriage- such as stereotypical roles and modern legal importance- counts.
Does that work?
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I think that's a fair statement, but I think it's true of anything that has its origins hundreds of years ago but is still around. Not that it necessarily goes from distinctly religious to distinctly secular, but that it simply is going to change over the years. There are very few rituals or institutions that exist today the same way as they did hundreds or thousands of years ago. There might not be any, except possibly in the most orthodox of churches.
By the way, it's a "garter" belt, and in weddings it's a stylized version of the thing that kept up one's hosiery. It apparently has become the male counterpart of the bride's tossing the bouquet over the shoulder to the breathlessly waiting unmarried female contingent, supposedly caught by the next to be married. The groom naughtily slides his hands up the blushing bride's legs far enough to get the garter, slides it off, and tosses it over his shoulder to a group of unmarried guys -- who let it fall on the floor.
Not everybody makes it a part of their wedding. God knows I wouldn't do it.