What Is the Meaning of Cake Cutting in Weddings?
The development of the wedding cake may have changed over the years, but the meaning and significance still remains the same. The custom of cutting the wedding cake is so important during weddings that couples often spend lavish amounts on the cake. Cutting the cake is seen as one of the most climactic moments during a wedding party.
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History
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During early Roman times, the wedding cake was more like rolls made of wheat and barley, both symbols of prosperity. These rolls were thrown at the bride as a way to wish her the best in her marriage. It wasn't until later in the Roman era that the rolls became a single cake. The groom would eat a slice of cake and then break the remainder of it on his wife's head, an act also tied to good luck and fertility.
Sharing
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Continuing in late Roman times, after the groom would eat a piece of the wedding cake and break a piece over his wife's head, the guests who attended the wedding would also take a piece of the broken wedding cake in hopes of gaining good luck and fortune for themselves. The idea of sharing the wedding cake, a symbol for good luck and fortune with friends and family, has continued into modern times.
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Children
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The cake was also supposed to bring benefits and good fortune to the couple's future children. Breaking the cake was even more important to the couple because only children from a couple who had performed this ritual were considered for a Roman high office. For the bride to ensure the success and good fortune of her children, she had to perform this ritual at her wedding.
Medieval Times
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It was during Medieval times when the cake transitioned into something more like we see today. The wedding cake was now made with flour, although it was still unsweetened. Later during the Medieval period, the cake began to contain sugar. Wedding guests would bring sweet rolls, and the rolls would be stacked to form a single cake. Rather than breaking the cake over the wife's head, the couple attempted to successfully kiss over the towering cake without knocking it down. This ritual, like in the past, was said to bring good health and prosperity to the married couple. Because of the impracticality of the outdated custom, it changed. Some countries, however, continued practice of the original Roman practice.
Modern Times
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The custom is now for the wife and groom to cut into the cake and for them to feed one another a single piece of cake. This act still contains meaning of good luck and fortune, but it also plays another important role--timing. Once the cutting of the cake has been perfomed, this signals the end of the wedding, and guests ready to depart may do so without appearing rude.
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References
- Photo Credit wedding cake image by Cindy Haggerty from Fotolia.com
