In the News - June 2008
Don't worry: Rice safe to throw at weddings!
LITTLE ROCK - Rice throwing at weddings is supposed to symbolize fertility
and prosperity, but what does tossing birdseed represent? Birdseed is showing up
at more and more weddings as the seed of choice.
The rules at one Little Rock church allow newly-married couples to be
showered with birdseed as they leave the church, but rice is off-limits for
those most special occasions.
"Rice? It's not good for the birds," explains the woman who answers the
phone.
No one seems to know for sure when or where the tradition of tossing grain at
the bride and groom to symbolize fertility and prosperity and overall good luck
got started. It's an ancient custom, everyone seems to agree, and maybe it was
started by the Hebrews, the Assyrians, the Egyptians or the Romans. It's
anyone's guess.
One ancient custom called for throwing rice to feed evil spirits who
inevitably turned up for nuptials, thus warding off evil; the rationale was that
a well-nourished evil spirit would do no harm.
In Morocco, figs, dates and raisins are tossed, symbolic of wishes for a
"fruitful" marriage, and in Italy, the custom calls for sweets and sugar-coated
nuts. The fathers of Korean grooms throw red dates at their new
daughters-in-law, and in some European countries, eggs represent new life. Irish
tradition once called for pots and pans to be heaved toward couples embarking on
domestication.
In America, throwing handfuls of rice was the longstanding tradition until as
recently as the last 20 years or so.
Somewhere along the way, rice got a bad rap.
It's possible that most of the wedding and reception venues that prohibit the
tossing of rice do so because they don't want to clean up the grain, which can
make for an unsteady surface and lead to falls.
It's also possible that churches and wedding coordinators have bought into
the urban myth that rice expands dangerously in birds' stomachs.
"There is no evidence to support the urban myth that birds are going to be
negatively impacted by rice," says Dr. Becky McPeake, extension wildlife
specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. "I've never
heard a report of an exploding bird from eating rice. If anything, rice farmers
have problems with flocks of blackbirds consuming too much rice in their
fields."
Some wedding vendors offer special designer wedding rice, advertised as
"environmentally-friendly" and "safe for birds and animals," for eco-conscious
couples who want to adhere to tradition. One such company charges $24.99 for
enough heart-shaped rice for 100 guests.
Dr. Chuck Wilson, extension rice specialist, points out that the
much-less-expensive bags of rice found on grocery store shelves is probably just
as good - sans heart-shapes, of course.
"Birdseed is nothing but grain - grain sorghum, corn, sunflower seeds, rice,
whatever," says Wilson. "So to think that rice is going to hurt the birds is
just being misinformed."
It has become trendy to toss sunflower seeds, fall leaves, and paper
snowflakes or to waving lit sparklers at the departing couple.
Almost every choice available to couples carries a downside: in addition to
the problems mentioned above, rice and birdseed and sunflower seeds can be
thrown hard enough to hurt, bubbles can create a sticky mess, and confetti,
paper snowflakes, leaves and flower petals can look like litter. An accidental
fire and burns are real possibilities with lit sparklers.
"Rice is like any other seed," says McPeake. "The birds are going to consume
it. The advantage of using birdseed over rice is that it will attract cardinals,
chickadees and other birds that we like to see around a feeder."
When McPeake was married nine years ago, she and her husband were sent off
with a cascade of bubbles. The church where they were married said no to both
birdseed and rice.
But Wilson says there is at least one reason that rice is superior to all
other materials.
"It's tradition," he says.
For more information about Arkansas wildlife and agriculture, visit the
extension's Web site, www.uaex.edu, or
contact your county extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part
of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
June 27, 2008
By Kimberly Dishongh
For the Cooperative Extension Service
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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