Going on a honeymoon is the first real opportunity to spend time alone as man and wife, but how did this tradition come to be?

As any couple knows, planning the honeymoon is just as important as planning the wedding day itself. Traditionally the first vacation that you will take as a married couple (and presumably when the couple will consummate the union), a honeymoon has become the period of time where a couple can rest and recharge after going through the stress and excitement of the wedding ceremony. But why do we take these trips? The idea of a honeymoon originates far back in time, and did not originate as the vacation trip we take now.

There are many variations on the story of where the honeymoon began. As the word goes, its first regular usage in English can only be dated back to the 16th century. Many stories of how honeymoons came to be report that the idea of a honeymoon started much earlier than that date, but it is hard to tell whether these are fact or fiction.

One idea that is repeated by most people is that the word honeymoon was used to describe an ancient Babylonian tradition where the father of the bride would give the groom all the mead (honey wine) he could drink for the first month (moon) of marriage. This was supposed to give the couple a boost to their fertility. While this idea is widely accepted as fact, since the word honeymoon was not used at this time (Babylon fell far before the 16th century), historians cannot be sure that this is where the custom and word honeymoon came from.

Another version comes from Norse beginnings. It is said to loosely be rooted in the word hjunottsmanathr. This is not a happy tradition, rather it was said to be necessary as many brides of the time were abducted from other tribes and the groom was required to hide his bride until her family stopped looking for her. Thus, the honeymoon was more of a kidnapping than anything else. By the way, this process still happens in some countries!

A third idea is that in Northern European cultures, a moon was representative of the monthly cycle of the body and honey was said to represent how sweet the first one of these months was for a married couple. The word was a caution, that future moons in the marriage may not be as sweet as the honeymoon.

No matter which you choose to believe, one thing is clear: the honeymoon is here to stay. In current times, honeymoons rarely last a full month, and most couples are well aware that not all of their marriage will be as thrilling and fun as their first vacation. That is fine with most couples. Their content to enjoy their honeymoon and married life as it comes.