婚礼上的接吻还象征新娘身份的变化。当新郎揭开她的面纱去吻她嘴唇的时候，丈夫是在向大家宣布，他已确认并且接受了她新的身份。就像那王子的亲吻唤醒睡美人一样，她可爱的王子的亲吻把新娘从少女时期的酣睡中唤醒，并把她引进成年人的生活。

 

Kissing The Bride

 

Western brides have been kissed as part of the wedding ceremony since the days of the Roman empire．Among engaged Roman couples，the kiss was a legal bond1)，the public certification that the union had taken place symbolically；if one of the contracting parties died before the formal ceremony，the survivor could keep the wedding gifts if，and only if，the two had kissed．“The symbolic value of this kiss，”Nicolas Perella notes，“depends upon the deeply rooted idea of the kiss as a vehicle for the transference2) of power or ’souls’ ．”The kiss as a binding3) symbol survives in the modern wedding ceremony．According to the church and the state，a couple is one when the officiant pronounces them so，but that is never enough for the guests：The community sees the ceremony as completed －－that is，as formally“sealed”－－only when the bride and groom kiss．

 

The wedding kiss also symbolizes the change of state of the bride．When he lifts her veil to touch her lips，the husband announces to the congregation that he defines and accepts her new identity．Just as the kiss of t he Prince awakens Sleeping Beauty，so the kiss of her own Prince Charming fractures the bride's slumber4) of maidenhood5) and initiates her into adult life．The custom of having the guests kiss the bride may be seen as an elaboration of this initiation motif．The serial pecking ritual that often follows the ceremony －－in which everybody from Uncle Joe to the newspaper boy gets a shot at the bride －－should be seen not as a harmless sexual game，and much less as the distribution of bridal favors，but as a communal welcoming rite．The guests' kissing fortifies and endorses6) the husband's．