Part One: In the past it seemed people put a lot more effort in romantic gestures. Romantic customs were a lot more complicated and defiantly more frequent. Woman were serenaded and had doors opened for them and yes feminists I know we have hands, but in my opinion the whole point of romance is putting your loved ones needs before yourself. Here are some of my favourite customs mainly from Europe.
In ancient Norway, single girl's would carry an empty sheath, and when a boy walked by he would put his knife in the girl's sheath. This seems a little sweet, but I still laughed when I read this. I couldn't help but wonder what happened if the boy had shaky hands. He might miss the sheath and end up stabbing the girl he was trying to woo. I guess this one would not work today, because it could turn gruesome and some people may find it strange to carry around knives. The next one could be used today as well.
In 17th century Wales, spoons were carved for loved ones. Whatever carvings the spoon was inscribed with would describe the love you had with the other person. For example, if you carved the picture of a vine onto the spoon it meant the love you have towards the person was growing. I don't find this custom overly complicated, so I don't know why it isn't used today, but a lot of the old customs were difficult to complete.
One custom we learned about in French class, was super complicated, but because I am not that great at French this may not be correct. From what I understood the guy would pick the first green apple that appeared on his apple tree. Next he would carve his loved one's name into the apple and then wait for the apple to turn red. Once it was red that meant their love was in full blossom. By then he should give the apple to his loved one. There was also something about a love letter, but I couldn't figure out if he was supposed to put the letter in the apple, or give it to the girl before the apple was given. Either way this custom takes time and is a tad bit tricky. You have to protect the apple at all times. I guess it's understandable why some of these aren't used today.
Part 2: Love and relationships have changed drastically from what it used to be. While in the past men tried to woo girls today most relationships start on the Internet. I guess people don't want to put much effort in today.
Most customs of the past take a lot of effort and time. In today's society we rarely even give a bouquet of flowers let alone put a jacket over a spill. Both chivalry and romance is hard to find today, not because people don't like it anymore, but because people are to lazy to put the effort in. When you look back at relationships of the past it seemed almost simpler with those customs. If you liked someone all you did was follow one of the customs and they would either decide to accept the gift or request or deny it. Today I seriously wonder if romance even exists.
Breakups are done over text or e-mail, and romance is reserved for apologies. Seriously people we need to put some effort in. As I mentioned before romance is all about putting someonelses need before your own. In a selfish society like today this can be difficult, but it's worth the effort.
In a world with almost no romance it's no surprise that the divorce rate is high. Just because you're married to someone for a while doesn't mean you shouldn't still have date nights. I know that being a teenager who has never dated I don't really have a right to comment on these things, but here I go anyway. Maybe it's me but it's pretty obvious that the key to a good marriage is to change up your routine and keep on doing occasionally romantic gestures. Don't do it on the same day of the week, or too often, because then it loses meaning. Just be sweet and think of your loved one's need as well as your selves and you should have a wonderful relationship.
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Doctor Who Quote
Nice attempt at a distraction from the fourth doctor.
Scorby: Okay, start talking.
The Doctor: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch...
Scorby: [referring to corpse] What happened to him?
The Doctor: Who, Wolfgang Amadeus...? Oh, him. Oh, he died.
