Miriam-Webster defines honeymoon as “a period of harmony immediately
following marriage“. However, in the beginning, the honeymoon existed long
before the marriage ceremony came into being.
The first recorded appearance of the term honeymoon came in 1546 - but the
ritual goes back much further. In earliest days, the man simply abducted the
woman of his choice and took her into hiding. This lasted at least as long as
it took for her angry relatives to stop searching for her. Normally, this was
about one month, as marked by the phases of the moon. Thus the “moon” in
honeymoon.
While in hiding, the couple would partake of mead - a wine made of water and
old honey. According to Pliny the Elder, it consisted of “one part of old
honey” and “three parts of water”. The mixture was then left in the sun for
forty days, though, according to Pliny, some left it to ferment only nine days.
Pliny went on to say, “with age it attains the flavor of wine”. As time passed,
it was believed that, if the couple drank mead daily during the honeymoon, they
would be assured of the birth of sons. One has to wonder how much mead Henry
VIII would have drunk! Anyway, the mead provided the “honey” part of the
honeymoon.
Symbolism of the Honeymoon
The term honeymoon is packed with symbolism. The mead, or honey wine, is
sweet and symbolizes the particular sweetness of the first month of marriage.
It is a time free of the stresses and tensions everyday life puts on the
relationship as time goes on. The moon symbolizes the phases or cycles of the
couple’s relationship as it waxes and wanes from full moon to full moon. Like
the moon, the couple’s relationship would have its brighter moments and its
darker ones. Being tied in with the moon cycle, the one-month period of time
was considered associated with the woman's menstrual cycle, and thus,
fertility.
Of course, the notion of hiding away during their honeymoon has led to the
present practice of couples keeping their plans secret. Though the reason has
changed. No longer is it fear of physical violence, in most cases anyway, but
rather, to keep nosy relatives and friends from invading the couple’s privacy.