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Show ,- ! Q-J VicUvrlgU Inli'ivit on weddings and brides is accented during June, and it seems appropriate to reflect on items pertaining to that important import-ant ouifit the wedding dress. Although many women select that special dress and decide against the traditional wedding veil, it is actually the veil that makes her : ok hke a bride. ihrs custom of wearing a veil lias been handed down to us from mi (feneration to another we ac--pt it, but seldom realize or are i. e aware of its significance. Actually it is a custom accepted by ancient nations, but its symbolism sym-bolism changed as civilization advanced. ad-vanced. I Veils were first used by primi- tivesas a means of keeping evil f spirits away. With early Chris- j tians the veil was worn by the ! ivoma nto signify that she was j forsaking all others and her ! charms were to be kept for her 1 husband alone. Many oriental women still wear the veil in daily life, the face is covered to all but her husband, and for a woman to be seen with her face uncovered, is a social disgrace U'ith some, a religious sin. With some marriage ceremonies, cere-monies, the bride enters with the veil covering her face, and it is not lifted until after the vows are made, when her husband lifts it to embrace her. This is synonymous syn-onymous with Oriental customs where the bride and groom are unknown to each other, the marriage mar-riage having been arranged by the parents, and the groom does not see his bride until after the ceremony, when he lifts her veil. The custom of wearing orange blossoms on wedding veils today is also borrowed from the East. It symbolizes the wish for fertility fer-tility for the bride. This is because be-cause the orange blossom is the only blossom that appears on the tree the same time as the ripened fruit, and this above all others is supposed to be highly symbolic |