May, the unlucky month to marry

Printed under 1 May · England

Lore and belief

Couples avoided marrying in May, a month long held unlucky for weddings. Chambers traced the idea back to Roman times, noting that Ovid states it in the Fasti, and said it was still widespread in Europe in his own day.

It is an idea as ancient as early Roman times, stated by Ovid in his Fasti, and still prevalent in Europe, that May is an unlucky month in which to be married.

From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 1, p. 569. Read the original

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