Hen Parties
Did you know that 40% of engagements happen between Christmas and Valentine’s Day ?
So that means hundreds of thousands of women will be celebrating their friends' last days of freedom in hen parties of some sort in the near future. The hen night/party/weekend has become an institution but where did it all start?
Like quite a lot of other institutions, it started with men and women have only got into the picture in the last half century. Stag nights for prospective bridegrooms have been celebrated throughout history and it has been discovered that the Spartans were the first to have a raucous celebration of the groom’s last night of freedom. The Spartan men would all gather round a huge feast and toast the health and future of the groom-to-be, in usual Spartan style.
In this country the roots of the Stag Party certainly go back as far as the time of Henry VIII. However the Stag Night and now likewise the Hen Night have become a tradition that is embedded in nearly all culture to spend one last night single with your friends without the constraints of your future partner. It is set out as the rite of passage, the transition of an adolescent to an adult, which seems bizarre in the modern day when most couples are already living together, are usually more mature and the idea of “constraints” is almost ludicrous!
As the reason behind the Stag and Hen Nights becomes obsolete the amount of money, time and energy spent on celebrating is growing. In 2012 the average spend on a Hen Party was £110 but now many Hen celebrations are at the very least a week-end away. There are specialist companies to organise the more elaborate celebrations and statistics suggest that the Hen and Stag industry is worth around £275m annually
Perhaps the origin of the Hen Party in the UK it was at a time when, before the advent of the contraceptive pill, female workers usually gave up work when they married and on their last day of employment they would be dressed up in a coat or veil and made to look like a parody of a bride and then paraded around the factory where people would congratulate them. Brides were usually living with their parents and there was a lack of knowledge about sex. As a result, messages with sexual innuendos were often tied onto the bride’s coat before she was paraded round the local pub!
Although many brides enjoy a raucous time with lots of alcohol, music and entertainment, there are a huge variety of ways to celebrate. Here at Tall John’s House we have hosted lovely get-togethers where the emphasis has bee on quality-time together and sharing an experience. People can be very original! We have hosted line dancing lessons, creating a quilt for the bride together, learning how to make chocolate and also pilates sessions. Has anyone got any more interesting ideas?
