Everyone just knows that honeymoon is supposed to be a holiday for newly married couple to have a good time. But today's “happy ending” to the wedding event is far from its meaning in the beginning.
Origin1 of Honeymoon
There are two popular stories about the origin of honeymoon. The first one is quite frightening, far from sweet or imaginative.
1 Kidnapping2 of the bride3
The word honeymoon has its roots in the Norse4 word “hjunottsmanathr”, which was anything but blissful5.
Northern European history tells us that long long ago because of economic reason a poor young usually “kidnapped” a lady as his bride from a neighboring village. It was against the law, but it was just the custom. Then the husband-to-be would take his bride-to-be into hiding for a period of time. His friends tried their best to keep him and her safe and kept their whereabouts6 unknown.Once the bride's family gave up their search, or the bride was in a family way, the bridegroom7 returned to his people. This folkloric8 explanation is the origin of today's honeymoon, for its original meaning meant “hiding”.
2 Honeyed wine
The Scandinavian word for honeymoon comes, in part, from an ancient Northern European custom in which newly married couples, for the first month of their married life, drank a daily cup of honeyed wine called mead. The ancient practice of drinking the honeyed wine dates back to the history of the Asian Huns from A.D. 433 to A.D. 453.
There is a similar story in Asia. It was an accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead (a honey beer) he could drink for a month. Because their calendar was lunar9-based, this period was called the “honey moon”.
Honeymoon in Philosophy
Honey is something sweet, but moon is something that keeps changing its shape. This suggests that not all moons of married life would be as sweet as the first. British writers and poets, in the 16th and 17th centuries, often regarded honeymoon as a period of tide: ebb10 and flow just like the couple's marriage life.
To enjoy honeymoon
The honeymoon period is definitely a special and unforgettable time for newly married couples, a special time for them to relax and enjoy one another. Now it is popular to have a good time by travel to some special places.
Where to go is totally up to the couple. Some couples prefer a warm and quiet place, while others choose to go to Disney World. A honeymoon travel depends on one's budget11 and the time available for one's trip. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will never forget!
众所周知，蜜月乃新郎新娘共度好时光的两人天地。可有谁知道，今日之蜜月与它原先的含义相差十万八千里呢！
蜜月的由来
关于蜜月的起源有两种说法，而第一种说法令人毛骨悚然，与甜蜜相去甚远，简直匪夷所思！
1.蜜月：绑架新娘
一说蜜月一词来自挪威语“hjunottsmanathr”， 而这个词绝对没有祝福或喜庆之意。
北欧的历史告诉我们，在很久很久以前，由于经济原因，贫穷的年轻人往往从邻村“绑架”一位少女作他的新娘。这是违法的，却又为风俗所默许。绑架之后，“准”丈夫会把他的新娘“雪藏”一段时间。他的朋友则会尽全力保证他俩的安全，对他们的藏身之地守口如瓶。一旦新娘的家人放弃了搜寻，或者新娘已经身怀六甲，新郎就可以回到社区，不用躲躲藏藏了。这种民间传说就是今日之蜜月的由来——蜜月的本意就是“躲藏”！
2.蜜月：痛饮蜂蜜酒
另一种说法是：蜜月一词来自斯堪的纳维亚语。在古老的风俗中，新人婚后一个月之内每天都要喝一杯蜂蜜酿的酒，曰“蜂蜜酒”。而每天一杯甜甜蜜蜜的蜂蜜酒这一习俗可追溯到亚洲古匈奴时期（约公元433年至453年）。
亚洲也有类似的说法。据说在距今4000年前的古巴比伦王国，当时的风俗是：新人结婚后，新娘的父亲要给女婿准备足够多的、足够新人喝一个月的蜂蜜酒。由于古巴比伦王国实行的是农历，因而这一段时期又称作“蜂蜜月”，“蜜月”即由此简称而来。
蜜月如月亮——有盈有亏
蜂蜜给人的感觉总是甜蜜蜜，可月亮却是变化无常的。这就暗示着：并非每月的婚姻生活都像蜜月那么完美无缺、那么甜甜蜜蜜。在16、17世纪，英国作家与诗人经常视蜜月为潮水：有涨有落恰如婚姻生活一样。
度蜜月
毫无疑问，对新人而言，蜜月是一段特别而又难以忘怀的岁月，是一段放松自己、享受生活的好时光。现在的新人流行到某个特别的地方去度假。
去哪儿度假完全取决于新人自己。有人爱去温暖的地方过一段与世隔绝的日子；有人则选择了热闹非凡的迪斯尼乐园。蜜月旅行既要看看钱包暖和不暖和，还要看看时间充裕否。蜜月一辈子才一次，必定是终身难忘！
1． origin n．起源
2． kidnap v．绑架
3． bride [braid] n．新娘
4． Norse adj．挪威人的
5． blissful adj．有福的
6． whereabouts n．下落，行踪
7． bridegroom n．新郎
8． folkloric adj．民间传说的
9． lunar adj．月（亮）的
10．ebb [eb] v．退潮
11．budget n．预算