評(píng)論
打印
婚禮上的接吻還象征新娘身份的變化。當(dāng)新郎揭開(kāi)她的面紗去吻她嘴唇的時(shí)候，丈夫是在向大家宣布，他已確認(rèn)并且接受了她新的身份。就像那王子的親吻喚醒睡美人一樣，她可愛(ài)的王子的親吻把新娘從少女時(shí)期的酣睡中喚醒，并把她引進(jìn)成年人的生活。
Kissing The Bride
Western brides have been kissed as part of the wedding ceremony since the days of the Roman empire．Among engaged Roman couples，the kiss was a legal bond1)，the public certification that the union had taken place symbolically；if one of the contracting parties died before the formal ceremony，the survivor could keep the wedding gifts if，and only if，the two had kissed．“The symbolic value of this kiss，”Nicolas Perella notes，“depends upon the deeply rooted idea of the kiss as a vehicle for the transference2) of power or ’souls’ ．”The kiss as a binding3) symbol survives in the modern wedding ceremony．According to the church and the state，a couple is one when the officiant pronounces them so，but that is never enough for the guests：The community sees the ceremony as completed －－that is，as formally“sealed”－－only when the bride and groom kiss．
The wedding kiss also symbolizes the change of state of the bride．When he lifts her veil to touch her lips，the husband announces to the congregation that he defines and accepts her new identity．Just as the kiss of t he Prince awakens Sleeping Beauty，so the kiss of her own Prince Charming fractures the bride's slumber4) of maidenhood5) and initiates her into adult life．The custom of having the guests kiss the bride may be seen as an elaboration of this initiation motif．The serial pecking ritual that often follows the ceremony －－in which everybody from Uncle Joe to the newspaper boy gets a shot at the bride －－should be seen not as a harmless sexual game，and much less as the distribution of bridal favors，but as a communal welcoming rite．The guests' kissing fortifies and endorses6) the husband's．
