The obligatory Hen night or Stag night (or bachelor/bachelorette party in the US and a Buck party to our Aussie cousins) is a time honoured tradition for those that have decided to bite the bullet and get married. Usually associated with t-shirts and sometimes ridiculous themed outfits, this night (or it seems here in the 21^st Century, perhaps a week or a fortnight!) is one of merriment, shenanigans and dare I say it debauchery! One thing that I can’t help but wonder however, is where this festive activity comes from? Does anyone know? Does anyone care?! Well I for one decided to find out.

 

Unfortunately even the internet couldn’t divulge a complete history of where the idea came from but there are a few hints. Perhaps the most prominent dates back to the Spartans (yes you saw the film!), members of their military would celebrate a comrade/friend’s upcoming betrothal by drinking and feasting through the night, usually the day before the wedding day. Obviously now the night before the wedding has significantly declined in acting as the day of the stag/hen party.  The reference to Stag being the literal leader of a group, a masculine symbol that represents it’s purpose. As to the Hen, perhaps a reference to future motherhood or the care of her own group. Whatever the reason, these terms are well and truly part of our regular vocabulary.

 

Nowadays it is perfectly normal to celebrate at least a few weeks prior to the main event, perhaps due to risk of hair loss, embarrassing tattoos or whatever else has happened on the night/weekend/week long excursion, there is now time left to grow back that hair that was shaved off in your sleep, have that tattoo removed from a very visible area or even arrange to sort out a misunderstanding after the incident with the pole dancer. Whatever the reason it’s fairly obvious that like most things in the last few decades, more effort, more money and more wild ideas are being ploughed into this tradition. With the eventual addition of the ladies also going out onto the town and celebrating their last days as a single girl, this worldwide phenomenon is now a common sight on any street in any city in any country. Much to the disappointment of certain bar stewards or door staff that have the unenviable task of keeping these merry makers in order! You know who you are!

 

With the events themselves, comes the desire to dress up, have a uniform or quite simply let the planet know why you are all dressed in stockings and suspenders wandering around Swindon at 3am…yes boys you were seen!  Stag and Hen T-shirts are the most popular way of making the night or holiday into a fun one, the message on most is literally an giving the name of the soon to be Groom/Bride and maybe a little play on his/her likes or dislikes, usually incorporating some level of impropriety, but overall just a bit of fun that usually brings a smile to most passer-by’s faces.

 

All in all, the purpose and activities relating to this once sacred right of passage have exploded and been added to quite outrageously over the years and today a great deal of fun and profit can be made.

 

For those of you planning your celebration, have a fantastic time and go all out, that’s what it’s there for. Enjoy your friendships, enjoy the beer and go out in style, you only get married once…apparently!

 

Tee Boy

 

This entry was posted on Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Fashion, Random, T-Shirt Printing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.