Marriage is a social institution that has been in place in some form or the other from the start of humanity. The definition and symbolism of marriage is not absolute, as the institution’s principles are constantly evolving. In today’s day and age, many couples are considering cohabitation rather than executing grandiose wedding ceremonies to declare their love and loyalty to one another. Let’s explore how much marriage has changed from yester years.
Is Gay Marriage A New Concept?
Same-sex unions were documented to take place as early as the 13th century. During that time, in the Mediterranean, male bonding ceremonies known as ‘spiritual brotherhoods,’ would commonly take place. The ceremonies were exactly the same as any other marriage ceremonies that took place in that era, apart from the couple being of the same sex. The ritual involved a wedding officiant who would recite marriage prayers, then came the joining of the hands at the wedding altar and the ceremonial kiss. These unions are speculated to have taken place in order to seal business deals and alliances. However, the rituals did not take into account sexual relations taking place between the individuals, which is why the discovery of sexual contacts between men led to the ban on same-sex unions.
When Was The Advent Of Marriage?
The concept of a couple reserving their sexual urges for each other and raising children together can be seen since the Stone Age. Obviously, the concept has changed since then and has been adapted differently as per cultural and religious views. The traditional marriage or family we talk about wanting today is not what we might perceive it to be. In ancient times, men having hundreds of wives and concubines was a normal thing. Thus, monogamous households are actually a more recent development than we might think. The first documented weddings date back to Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago. In ancient times, the concept of marriage was a means to preserve power, produce heirs and acquire land.
Was Love A Predecessor For Marriage
Every wedding officiant in Oklahoma City hopes that the couple whose wedding they are officiating would be in love. However, most marriages in history were not compelled by love. In fact, public displays of love were frowned upon, and couples finding love for one another after marriage was seen as a fortunate happenstance. In fact, 2nd BC writer Plutarch thought it disgraceful when a senator kissed his wife in public. 12th century onwards extramarital affairs were considered the height of romance. After the industrial revolution when the middle class grew in numbers is when people started marrying for love rather than money or for their parents’ approval. With the right to choose who they married, people also saw it fair to choose if they wanted to end their marriage and thus, divorce became more common.
Marriage: Now
Any wedding officiant from Oklahoma would now be grateful that people are given more autonomy over who they marry. No matter your gender, beliefs, sexuality or culture, you can hire a wedding officiant from OKC to officiate your marriage at a ceremony that can be as big or intimate as you would like. People are increasingly only marrying for love rather than money or any other gains. This, however, does mean that the rates for marriage are going down, but people are now really marrying each other because they want to, not because they have to.
