Traditions and customs, modern weddings have tons of ‘em: Flowers, rice, something old, something blue, you know the drill. Have you ever thought about how all these wedding traditions originated or what they actually mean? Here’s the meaning behind some of the most popular wedding customs and rituals.

1. Wedding Tradition: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Lucky Sixpence in Her Shoe

This popular rhyme originated in the Victorian area. Something Old – represents the link to the bride’s old life and her family. Something New – signifies the couple’s new life together as well as their hope for the future. Something Borrowed – originates from the idea that borrowing something from a happily married woman will impart similar happiness to the new bride. Something Blue – represents fidelity, love, and purity. Lucky Sixpence in her Shoe – signifies wealth, both financial wealth and a wealth of happiness.

2. Wedding Tradition – Bride and Groom Not Seeing Each Other Before the Ceremony

This tradition stems from the early days of arranged marriages – when the bride and groom’s first meeting occurred at the wedding. The two were kept from seeing each other to prevent the groom from bolting should he not like the look of his new bride.

3. Wedding Tradition – Bridal Bouquet

The first bridal bouquet did not consist of wedding flowers. Instead, wedding bouquets were originally made of strong herbs such as thyme and garlic meant to ward off evil spirits.

4. Wedding Tradition – Throwing Rice

As rice is considered a “life giving” seed, it is thought that by throwing it on the couple they will be bestowed with fertility and have many children.

5. Wedding Tradition – Bridal Shower

Tradition states that the first bridal shower was given to a poor couple in Holland who was denied the bridal dowry because of the groom’s lowly miller status. The miller’s friends gathered to “shower” the bride with items she’d need to make a new home and enter into marriage.

6. Wedding Tradition – Getaway Car – Cans Tied To The Bumper

One wedding tradition of the Middle Ages was to ward off evil spirits by banging pots and making a lot of noise after the ceremony. This custom has been replaced by tying tin cans to the bumper of the car transporting the bride and groom.

7. Wedding Tradition – Garter Toss

Garter-throwing derives from an English ritual called “flinging the stocking.” Guests would playfully invade the bridal chamber and grab the bride’s stockings, and then they took turns sitting at the foot of the bed flinging the stockings over the heads of the couple. Whoever’s stocking landed on the bride’s or the groom’s nose would be the next to wed.

Looking for more? Learn the meaning behind even more wedding traditions here.

Our surroundings play a major role in influencing our lives. If we are surrounded by the right elements and attract the positive vibes into our lives, we can make a big difference in terms of the four main aspects of our life – health, wealth, relationships and career. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that is over 3000 years old but it is as effective today as it was then. The practice deals with the various ways to balance the chi or energy in our living space. It involves no rigorous rituals and only certain rearrangement of objects is required to bring a suitable harmony in your life. If wealth is major cause for concern in your life right now then the Feng Shui wealth tips can be the perfect solution to attract prosperity in your house.

Feng Shui wealth tips can be personalized foe every individual after calculating his personal kua number on the basis of his date of birth. The kua number helps to point out your success direction which is the sheng chi. If you sleep with your head directed towards the sheng chi you can attract prosperity through success. Some of the common Feng Shui wealth activating objects to enhance and maintain wealth and prosperity are coins and toad. A set of three coins can be tied together with a red ribbon and attached to the register in which you maintain the accounts to energize the wealth factor. The coins can also be kept in your wallet in close contact with the currency. Alternatively you can hang the coins on the door handle of your main entrance towards the inside of the room. This will also help to attract wealth into your home or office.

The Feng shui toad is also a commonly used object to implement the Feng Shui wealth tips. The toad usually comes with a Chinese coin in its mouth and should be placed near the entrance, diagonally facing the room. It symbolizes the toad bringing in wealth luck to your home. Keeping a healthy orange plant also symbolizes luck and prosperity. The more luscious the fruits are the better it will be for Feng Shui purposes. If activating your career is connected with acquiring more wealth then you could also use some tips for that in addition to wealth enhancing tips.

A terrapin turtle kept in the northern direction is very auspicious as a protection as well as a career enhancing factor. The more active the turtle, the better will it be for your career. In place of turtle, you could also opt for goldfish which might look more appealing to you and your family. No matter what Feng Shui wealth advice you follow and implement, it is advisable to always take the opinion and consultation of a Feng Shui expert. The tips should only be implemented under the specific guidance of a Feng Shui practitioner as wrongly implemented Feng Shui could cause you more harm so it is always better to be cautious.

It is hard to imagine life without moving your back freely as it is a most important part of the body which plays a major role in daytoday life.It is essential to keep the back free and functional. We should know the best means to avoid all forms of back pain including middle back pain. To understand what back pain is,we need to understand its structure.Vertebrae consists of thirty small bones,which are stacked one on top of the other and which use ligaments, tendons as well as muscles

for connecting with one another.

Middle back pain or thoracic spine pain is not a very common occurrence .Usually it is caused by muscular irritation as well as joint dysfunction. There are also instances when you may injure your disk that will cause you middle back pain, though such kind of injuries are not known to happen very often. Though not all types of back pain may warrant a visit to a physician, middle back pain most often will mean consulting a doctor.

Middle back pain may occur due to poor posture, or sitting in a single position for extended periods of time. If you are sitting in a chair of poor design you could very well end up with middle back pain. Other causes include emotional worries which results in stiffness in muscles and consequent pain.

Another possible cause of middle back pain is kidney infections.The common symptoms for this are pain as well as discomfort during the passing of urine. If you have stomach ulcers you would experience middle back pain which becomes more noticeable after consuming a meal. In any case, this condition comes about due to lower back misalignment and even through lower neck misalignment.

Common warning signs of middle back pain include having a tender spot in the chest that switches on and off, needing to struggle with the breath when breathing normally, having chest pains while taking a deep breath, and also feeling pain in the chest when sneezing or coughing. This condition must be treated and the best treatment would be making gentle adjustments of the ribs as well as of the spine. In some cases, you may even use ice to reduce the swelling caused by this condition.