MUST READ: Here’s why women wear veils on their wedding day

– Women in Nigeria have been wearing veils since white weddings were introduced to us by the colonialists

– The reasons why women wear veils varies from culture to culture

– The white veil is a symbol of purity

Lots of traditional concepts come into play during wedding ceremonies. It’s a typical affair of “this is how it’s done”. A common and age-long tradition is the wearing of a veil by the bride.

This singular act has been adopted by many cultures and religions for generations and is still very well practiced today. It’s integration into popular religions and cultures has made it a norm for most members of the society and as such questions are hardly ever asked as to why the bride wears a veil on her wedding day.

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However, NAIJ.com is here to educate you.

The origin of the bridal veil is believed to have stemmed from the ancient Romans. History books depict its use as a means to separate married women from the unmarried ones. From that point till now the veil has adopted different meanings but its use remains.

It was also used to “ward-off evil.” The Roman brides were covered with long red veil in a bid to appear like they are on fire so as to scare off evil spirits. Of course, that doesn’t happen in today’s world. However,  a sense of protection from ‘lurking eyes’ is activated upon wearing the veil.

Christian tradition attributes the use of a veil as a symbol of purity, which makes sense seeing that the veil is usually in white or off-white colour. The veil, usually made of chiffon or lace material, along with the wedding dress signifies that the bride’s “womanhood” was intact.

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Did you know it also means the husband’s love for the wife isn’t just skin deep? In Jewish tradition, by wearing a veil, the bride projects the kind of love her husband-to-be has for her, which says “my love for you is not appearance based or skin deep.’’ rather the husband is saying; “I can cover your face with a veil and marry you because your face is just one level of your beauty.”

In Nigeria, the concept of wearing veils is one transferred to us by the colonialists, the British. Nevertheless, it has seeped so much into our culture that even at traditional Yoruba weddings the bride often wears a veil.

So, if you thought the veil was just a beauty accessory for the bride, well you were wrong. The real question now is what material would you rock your wedding day veil in?

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