The Irish Honeymoon

     The tradition of going on a honeymoon after a wedding is quite old and has been around for a while. Every couple dreams of going on a romantic trip of some sort with their loved one, whether it be to the tropics, the mountains, ect. The real question is though, how did such a tradition come to be? Well, we've got the Irish and their 'month of honey' to thank.

 
     Ever since the very beginning of Irish civilization, the 'month of honey' has been around, referring to the month after an Irish wedding in which the couples drink mead, a brew made of mainly fermented honey. The friends and relatives of these couples are the ones to supply significant amounts of mead, as well as special goblets to drink it out of. Such a tradition was believed to enhance virility and fertility, as well as simply set the marriage off to a good start. Although our ideas of honeymoons are quite modernized and varied, the idea and message remains the same.

By Julia Dankov