Little story on how marriage ceremonies started and how it all evolved
The first recorded evidence of marriage ceremony uniting one woman and one man was about 2350 B.C in Mesopotamia.
Over hundreds of years, it evolved into a widespread institution accepted by the ancient Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. The marriages back then had little to do with love or religion but basically need for companionship and ptocreation. This was to guarantee that a man’s children are his biological heirs and the wife is his property.
The marriage ceremony are in two parts; the betrothal ceremony and the wedding proper. The bride’s father would hand over his daughter with these words “I pledge my daughter for the purpose of legitimate offspring”.
The ancient Hebrew men were free to take several wives while the Greeks and Romans were free to satisfy their sexual urges with prostitutes and concubines, their wives were required to stay home and tend to household duties. They were also returned home by their husbands if they fail to produce an offspring while the husbands would remarry.
This old tradition changed when religion came in the eighth century. Marriage became widely accepted as a ceremony to bestow God’s grace and as a sacrament in catholic church.
Marriage improved as church came in; men were taught to show greater respect to their wives. The declaration of “Twain shall become one body” puts a new pressure on men to remain sexually faithful to their wives, adding that they were forbidden from divorcing them.
CONCLUSION: The early marriages were out of basic need for protection and companionship. Today, love is the major reason for marriage and women are treated fairly.