CHAPTER VI
THE BRIDE'S OUTFIT
ORIGIN OF THE TROUSSEAU
One must study the marriage customs of many countries before the development of the trousseau idea can be fully traced. But it is interesting—especially to the bride—to discover that at her impressive marriage ceremony to-day she is merely repeating the ancient customs of her ancestors, so very far back that Europe itself was not yet known.
We find the first trace of it in the book of Genesis (Gen. xxiv. 53). Perhaps you remember the story. Abraham's servant Eliezer brought handsome jewels to Rebecca as a seal to the marriage compact. It is one of the earliest evidences of outfitting for the wedding. And then we find a trace of it among the early Eskimos, where the bridegroom must supply his bride with all the clothes necessary for the "honeymoon." Later, in Roumania, we find the clothes and shoes are a very important part of the gifts to the bride. Largely from the customs practiced in this latter country, but also from Italy, Sweden, and Greece, the idea of the marriage trousseau sprang.
The development is most marked in Roumania. Here we find the tiniest girls, some of them as young as five years, working on bridal finery—each one striving to outdo the other in beauty and elaboration of work. Each
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