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"A midday mass was followed by a sumptuous banquet held in a garden restaurant in Les Pres Saint Gervais, a suburb of the capital. This meal was punctuated by toasts and speeches and followed by the recitation of poems and songs composed by the guests especially for the occasion. The room was then rearranged for dancing, which lasted, with time out for an intermission and more songs, until six in the morning" Jacques Bede's A Worker in 1820 as found in Traugott, p74 |
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The nature of marriage was changing over the course of the nineteenth century, and practices varied widely from one family to another. Ceremonies, circumstances, and the question of a dowry all depended largely on region of origin and parental involvement. |
The quote above describes a common practice of celebrating a particuar trade on a special holiday, known as a feast day. Other important holidays for the working classes were mainly religious in nature, particulary baptisms and first communions. |
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