Love, Courtship, and Marriage

Love, Courtship, and Marriage

Tampuhan
by Juan Luna, 1895

1. How will I know how my future spouse looks like?

If you want to know what your lifetime partner will look like, wake up in the middle of the night and take a look at yourself in the mirror while holding a lighted candle. At first, the image in the mirror will appear to be a skeleton. After five minutes, you will see a full view of the person you will marry.

2. Giving gifts to your beloved.

A. No handkerchiefs please.

You can give your sweetheart a handkerchief as a gift, but it will only
make her cry.

B. No pointed/sharp objects please.

Engaged couples should not exchange pointed or sharp objects as
gifts, or this would lead to a broken engagement.

3. Eloping and the half-moon:

When a star appears near a half-moon, it is a sign that young couples are eloping.

4. Before the wedding:

A. Avoid travelling

Engaged couples should avoid travelling before their wedding day to avoid
accidents.

B. The bride should not try on her wedding dress before the wedding. If she
does, the wedding will not push through.

5. On the wedding day:

A. The groom should arrive at the church before the bride, in order to avoid bad
luck.

B. Dropping the wedding ring, or the couple's veil, or arrhae during the
wedding ceremony means that the couple will not be happy in their
marriage.

C. The groom who sitsdown ahead of his bride during their wedding ceremony
will be a henpecked husband.

D. During the wedding ceremony a bride must step on her husband's foot in
order to that both of them will agree on things that they will undertake, and
so that her husband will not be cruel to her.

E. Whoever of the couple stands first after the ceremony, will die ahead of the
other.

F. A bride who cries during the wedding will bring bad luck to the marriage.

G. It is bad omen for the newly-wed couple if their parents cry during the
wedding.

H. If it rains during the wedding, the couple will have many cry babies.

I. Throwing rice at the newly-wed couple will bring them prosperity in life.

J. Breaking something during the wedding reception brings goodluck to the
newly-wed couple.

K. Upon entering their new home, the couple should go up the stairs alongside
each other so that neither one will dominate the other.

6. Other folk beliefs and superstitions:

A. It is bad luck for two siblings to be married within the same year. In order to
remedy the situation, the sibling who marries later in the year should pass
through the backstairs of the church on the day of the wedding.

B.A person who habitually sits at the head of the table during meals will never
marry.

C. Women who have moles under their eyes, right where their tears fall, will be
widowed.

D. Removing plates from the table while an unmarried woman is still eating
will keep her single all her life.

E. An unwed gril who follows the footprints of a newly-wed couple will marry
soon.

F. If a woman is widowed during a newmoon, she will marry again.

G. A married woman who wears a pearl ring will cause her husband to commit
adultery.

H. If the husband leaves the house soon after a quarrel, the wife should get his
shirt, hang it over the stove, and whip it several times. The husband is
certain to come back.