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Christmas Day Marriages !

ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

David

David Report 29 May 2005 11:17

Whilst researching my family tree i have recently recieved a couple of church marriage certificates (1913 and 1915) where the ceremony was performed on December 25th ! Surely, churches would be too busy to deal with marriage ceremonies on Christmas Day unless of course there is something unusual from a legal/financial point of view of getting married on Christmas Day. Anybody got any ideas ? Thanks for your all replies. i suspected it had something to do with cost !

Slinky

Slinky Report 29 May 2005 11:20

The reason being that a lot of marriages were performed on Xmas day, was because usually, this was the only day that they had off throughout the year in those days... remember Dickens Christmas Carol? Anne :)))

Joy

Joy Report 29 May 2005 11:26

My aunt and uncle married on Christmas Day in 1937. :-) Joy

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 29 May 2005 11:27

My Mum & Dad were married on Christmas Day 1929 Shirley

Julie

Julie Report 29 May 2005 11:37

I had heard that the reason why people got married on Christmas day was because it was free

Animal Lover

Animal Lover Report 29 May 2005 11:58

I too have found out that one set of my relatives were also married on Christmas Day. It seems it was quite common then! Imagine nowadays rushing around and getting the turkey cooked whilst trying to get ready then all down the church after lunch for the wedding! Jan

Pippa

Pippa Report 29 May 2005 13:01

I have christamas eve and christmas day marriages in my tree. There are other holidays that they seemed to take advantage of too. I guess it was the only way to be off work and not cost you any money - I can't imagine holiday pay in those days. Pippa

Debby

Debby Report 29 May 2005 13:08

Me too - quite a few of mine were married Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Years Day. Debby

Unknown

Unknown Report 29 May 2005 13:47

I have a couple of Christmas day marriages in my tree. Of course, the church service doesn't have to take long - the actual marriage bit is just the taking of vows, and the legal bit completing the certificate. As for the rest of Christmas day - churches generally have maybe midnight mass, then a morning service and perhaps one later on - the wedding could slot in between these, or perhaps be part of general morning service. nell

Unknown

Unknown Report 29 May 2005 13:51

I discovered a few Christmas Day marriages in the tree and thought - how romantic - until I realised it was their only day off!

Heather

Heather Report 29 May 2005 14:56

I have a few too. I suppose it was a good time all round as they had the day off, the church would be all decorated and the congregation in place anyway! Plus I expect there was some sort of eats laid out by the village squire for christmas celebrations so that would have been a nice little wedding day do for them.

An Olde Crone

An Olde Crone Report 29 May 2005 18:40

When I first started doing this, I was dead impressed to find that my 2 x Gts had married in Manchester Cathedral on Xmas Day. Turns out though, it was free on Xmas Day (and also on other Saints Days) and in 1861 no less than 250 marriages were performed on Xmas Day in Manchester Cathedral - they literally queued up the Aisle! Marjorie

Phoenix

Phoenix Report 29 May 2005 19:00

The other really popular dates for marriages, especially for agricultural labourers, were in October. Virtually all my ancestors prior to civil registration marry in October. The reason? The poor would gain settlement in a village if they worked there for over a year. To ensure that the rate-payers were not responsible for a bunch of unknown paupers, young men and women were hired for just under a year. At Michaelmas there would be great hiring fairs, which enabled them to gain employment for the following year. Once the young couple were happy that they had acquired enough skill and enough savings to set up house together, then at the end of their term of employment they would have the banns called, ready to marry in October. (This of course excludes those ancestors who didn't do their planning quite carefully enough and had to marry a little earlier!) B

Jean Durant

Jean Durant Report 29 May 2005 19:00

My Mum and Dad married on Christmas Day, 1936. Then Dad and his brothers went off to watch Arsenal play. Jean x.

Julia

Julia Report 29 May 2005 22:26

Lol, Jean! I would have kiled him if he were mine!!! Fascinating thread. I just thought it was all coincidence!!

Mandy

Mandy Report 29 May 2005 23:06

A totally useless point.............One of the biggest ratings boosters for the soaps is a Christmas day wedding. You have to bear in mind that weddings for the working classes were totally different 150 years or so ago, compared with what is expected today. Mandy

Lisa

Lisa Report 30 May 2005 00:16

I've just transcribed some marriages for my local FHS and found quite a few on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. October and April seemed popular too. Lisa