From The Editor: What Do Weddings, Santa Claus and the Supreme Court All Have in Common?

It’s not (just) weird outfits.

Weddings and marriage can seem like one of society’s untouchable, unchanging phenomena, up there with Santa Claus and the Supreme Court. And it is, in the same sense as those examples — which is to say, it’s not.

Any children aged 6 or under (because of course at 7, belief in Santa is “marginal”) who may be reading this column, please skip to the next paragraph. Santa Claus is not a mythical figure that has existed since time immemorial, but rather an amalgamation of several folk characters who first appeared in the popular conscience in the 18th century.

Like Mr. Claus, the Supreme Court is younger than the sun, the Catholic Church, and Mozart despite the garb of its justices suggesting otherwise. It was established by the First Congress in 1789. Its power of judicial review was established in 1803, and it reached its current total of nine justices in 1869 — not so untouchable after all.

That same Supreme Court, despite the best efforts of our nation’s biggest bigots and after decades of organized action by activists, changed another supposedly untouchable institution when it guaranteed gay and lesbian couples the right to marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

As marriage has changed, so too have weddings, despite being significantly older than both previously discussed SCs. Archaeologists have found evidence of wedding ceremonies as early as 2350 B.C.E., according to the Pocono Record. Since then, they’ve gone through several changes.

The first wedding rings were exchanged by Egyptians, with European Christians not adopting the practice until the Middle Ages. Bridesmaids and groomsmen appeared in Elizabethan England. The white wedding dress didn’t emerge until the 1800s. And that’s all just in the Western world.

No matter how permanent things may seem, they’ve almost always changed over time. One of the few exceptions to that rule is the importance of love in our lives — exactly what modern weddings are meant to celebrate.

So, if you’re planning a wedding, don’t worry too much about following tradition. They’ve changed before, and they’ll change again. What’s important is celebrating love, whenever, wherever and in whatever clothes you decide to do it.