Silly Car Traditions

By Paul Townsen

When you stop to think about it, most of the silly traditions people follow involve things that they do only because they have done it for as long as they can remember, and the generations of people before them did the same. Sometimes, the meaning of the tradition even becomes forgotten in the following of traditions, and, not so unlike lemmings, people just follow along, teaching their children to do what they have always done. Some of these traditions, involving automobiles, are just as silly as anything else.

For example, whose idea was it to trash the car of a newly wedded couple? While they are peacefully inside a church or reception hall, greeting all of their well-wishers, and rejoicing in their brand new start, some group of mischievous people are more likely than not working on their car outside. Armed with all kinds of weapons, these people go all out, decorating, dying, and sometimes defacing the car of those two love birds waiting inside until it is their time to fly out on their honeymoon.
Pretty soon, the party is over, and the bride and groom are shown out to their car. To their all too often un-surprise, they quickly find that getting into that car will take a balancing act. A quick survey of the car shows that their friends and family left no spot uncovered, and window paint, shaving cream, confetti, balloons, Oreos, and even those old vegetable cans are put in their traditional places, and everyone from here to Niagra Falls will know that this young couple has just tied the knot.
Who out there wants to clean off their car the second they leave the wedding reception? Possibly everyone, but the truth is, there are other important things, like vacationing on a honeymoon and looking longingly into the dear eyes of a newly acquired spouse than rushing to the nearest gas station and scrubbing what you can off of the car with the windshield cleaning fluid.
Where did such a silly tradition come from, and why do people continue to do so today? While there may be some circumstances when such a decorating can be playful and welcoming, but there are certainly some who simply go over the top, creating one heck of a mess for whoever was unlucky enough to get married that day.
To those planning on getting married: stop and think about what you would like to deal with, concerning the tradition of decorating your wedding getaway car. If you do not think you'll be up for that late-night cleaning as so often happens, think ahead of time where you might stash the car, and with whom you might entrust the key, so as to avoid that ridiculous situation on the happiest day of your life. Don't worry, you'll likely end up with something written on or placed in your car no matter what you do, but by protecting it to some level, you might have considerably less to deal with.
It's your choice. And maybe the idea of silly traditions isn't so bad when it's not your car you are decorating.

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