SHOES Customs and traditions around the world
Perhaps you don’t think about shoes very often. Perhaps you think shoes are boring, but shoes have a very interesting history.
A long time ago, people used to throw shoes at the bridge and groom after the wedding because they thought it was good luck. Some people still tie shoes to the back of the married couple’s car.
In ancient Rome, a soldier’s sandals used to tell everyone how important he was in the army – a captain or a foot soldier.
High heels and platform shoes are not new. Hundreds of years ago, people used to wear them in the street because the streets were full of rubbish. The rubbish didn’t touch their feet so their feet didn’t get dirty.In France when Louis XIV was king, they thought red shoes were very special. Only the very rich aristocracy used to wear them when they visited the king.
Strange things happened at Anglo-Saxon weddings. The bride’s father used to give his daughter’s shoes to the groom. Then the groom used to touch the bride’s head with these shoes. This meant that the father no longer owned his daughter – she now belonged to the groom.
