Honeymoon is defined as “1 : a period of harmony immediately following marriage 2 : a period of unusual harmony especially following the establishment of a new relationship 3 : a trip or vacation taken by a newly married couple.”

There are many variations on the history of “honeymoon.” It has been thought that it occurs from the practice of the ancient Teutons of drinking honeyed wine (hydromel) for thirty days after marriage. Attila the Hun is said to have died after overindulging in hydromel during his wedding feast. Hydromel, also known as mead or metheglin, is a honey wine that not only symbolized the sweetness of marriage but also had reputed aphrodisiacal properties. This beverage is said to have been drunk at the wedding feast, but also every night for the next month. One version states that the Babylonians had a practice of the father of the bride giving mead to his new son-in-law for the first month of the marriage.

As wonderfully romantic as the above explanations are, there is evidence that the term “honeymoon” is first used in the 16th century (1546) to mean ‘the period of pleasure immediately following a marriage.’ The concept of a honeymoon being tied into a vacation or trip did not occur until the 18th century. Dr. Samuel Johnson stated the honeymoon was ‘The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure,’ comparing it to the moon which begins to wane as soon as it is full. Many dictionaries described the honeymoon as “the period of waning affections.”

Even if it is only a legend, drink of cup of mead with your beloved and watch the moon grow full again.

Written by Judy Thomas