When you Google the word honeymoon, up pops 266,000,000 potential links. I was just trying to find the origin of the word, but I could have found many, many great places for a honeymoon. No, I didn’t just get married. I’m not even writing about a honeymoon. Well, wait a minute. On second thought, I do sort of have a honeymoon about to happen in the book I just turned in to my editor. But what really got me thinking about honeymoons is my nephew’s wedding this weekend. He and his bride are off to Jamaica for their honeymoon. Both are in their thirties. Neither has been married previously so they were ready for a special getaway honeymoon.
So while they have me thinking about honeymoons, I wasn’t Googling the word to find romantic destinations. I was trying to find out why we call it a honeymoon. I found two explanations. So I guess you can take your pick. Both sound good.
“Honeymoon” was the month after a wedding, when the bride’s father would give the groom all the mead he wanted. Mead is a honey beer while the Babylon calendar was a lunar calendar. The Babylonians started calling the month the “honey month” but we now call it a “honeymoon.” (Quora.com)
Origin of honeymoon according to the online Dictionary – Mid 16th century (originally denoting the period of time following a wedding): from honey + moon. The original reference was to affection waning like the moon, but later the sense became ‘the first month after marriage.’
I like both explanations, although we can hope a couple’s honeymoon lasts longer than the waning of the moon. Of course, we do often say “the honeymoon is over” at the first sign of a tiff. I hope the honeymoon lasts a good long time for my nephew and also for my granddaughter who got married in May.
From all those links on Google about the perfect honeymoon destination, honeymoons are now serious business with all sorts of exotic and romantic places to spend the first days or weeks as a married couple. People have had honeymoons for a long time as evidenced by the origin of the term. But they may have been a tad simpler back in the day unless you happened to be born into a super rich family. My mother and father went on a honeymoon. This picture is Mom on her honeymoon in 1938. I think they went to Cumberland Falls.
Fast forward twenty-six years and my husband and I got married. We didn’t have any money so I’m not sure how we scraped up any cash to follow in my parents’ footsteps and spend a weekend at Cumberland Falls. That was before people carried money via a plastic card in their pocket. But we did scrounge up the money somehow. Our honeymoon was eventful. The night after our wedding turned icy. Darrell likes to brag about chipping the ice off the car to open the door after we spent the night at a motel on the way to Cumberland Falls. Then once at the Falls, we found the cheapest motel we could. This one was so cheap, I don’t think they turned the heat on. We did go look at the falls – in our winter coats. With our wedding in November, we might have chosen a warmer place for our honeymoon. But there was that no money problem. That was a problem too when we went to the lodge for dinner. Very little on the menu was in our price range. But even if we didn’t have the perfect honeymoon weekend, we are still married all these years later.
I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to how many honeymooning couple have a picture of the falls in their honeymoon scrapbooks. The picture up top was part of a British book about sights in America, but it doesn’t take much imagination to think it could have been drawn to illustrate a honeymoon trip. Only one of my books mention anything about a honeymoon trip and that is in Angel Sister where Victor and Nadine go to Louisville. That wasn’t actually a honeymoon trip, but rather Victor reporting for training before going overseas in World War I. But I’ve left many characters on the brink of honeymoons at the end of my stories.
What about you? Did you go on a honeymoon after you married? If so, where did you go? Whether you did or not, what would be your pick for a perfect honeymoon destination today?
Comments 28
My husband and I traveled to Oahu, HI for our honeymoon and loved it there so much, we returned to visit a couple more islands on our 15th anniversary. Number 35 is fast approaching but no big plans for a 3rd trip.
Author
That sounds like a honeymoon dream, Diana. I’ve never been to Hawaii but I’ve talked to those who have, so I’ve heard how beautiful and fun it it. Maybe someday. But I think you should try for that 3rd trip. Third times charm they say. I’d think that would really be true on honeymoon and anniversary trips to Hawaii.
No, I didn’t. At this point I would enjoy going anywhere just to get away from all the daily chores calling my name. 😂
Author
Sounds as though you could use some rest and relaxation, Lucy. Maybe you need to give yourself a few days off. Let those chores slide a little if you can. There is one thing about some housecleaning chores, they sit right there and wait for you. I’ve got some of those waiting for me to get myself in cleaning gear. 🙂
My husband and I went to Florida where we were going to spend a few days at the beach and then a few days at Walt Disney World. Our hotel at the beach was nice, right on the beach with a veranda overlooking the ocean. The hotel for WDW wasn’t as nice. While at the beach though we both got sick with sinus infections. By the time we got to WDW we were both pretty miserable and then our hotel was the most gosh awful one we’d ever seen (and we have traveled a lot). We spent the evening at Magic Kingdom and left for home the next day checking out a few days early. This was 31 years ago. Since then we’ve never had a second honeymoon but we’ve had many great trips together.
Author
Sometimes things don’t live up to way you hope, Karen, but sounds as if you made the best of it and then just called it quits on Walt Disney World, Karen. I don’t know exactly when a trip becomes a second honeymoon. Maybe when you leave the kids home if you have kids. But great trips are good any time.
Oh yes, my husband took me on a beautiful honeymoon to Niagara Falls in New York and then we crossed over to Canada. It was a beautiful trip. We were there for 5 days and enjoyed it so much we took our sons there several years later to see the falls. They also loved it. We all agreed that the Canadian side is much more beautiful than the American side. There is just a lot more to see there. We got married in September and the foliage was actually beautiful. My husband said it was really Gods country. No man could make the beauty we saw. If you haven’t been there try it. You will love it.
When my son was about three, we took a trip to Niagara Falls. You are so right about the view from the Canadian side being more gorgeous. Did you view it from inside the caves? My son was so cute in his little slicker, but he wasn’t a happy camper. That little adventure scared him, and the poor little guy cried all the time we were there.
Author
We went to Niagara Falls 20 years ago on vacation. We also went to the Canadian side to take in both ways to view the falls. It was a fun trip. Sounds as thought you went at just the right time of year for it to be its loveliest for your honeymoon. I know those are memories you treasure, Fran.
When we got married 30+ years ago, like you the money was short. Our wedding was Dec.23rd, so just getting the time off of work (as a nurse ) was a small miracle. We spent our first Christmas at a lovely B&B on the coast (PNW beaches are uncrowded in Dec.!). Then we drove inland along the Columbia River to stay at another B & B, and went cross country skiing on Mt. Hood. It was short but great!
Author
Sounds wonderful, Karen. Glad you were able to take that trip at Christmas time. What a wonderful memory to think back on now and a trip you could take again along the coast to celebrate and remember.
I loved Anne of Green gables growing up and had always wanted to go to PEI. When my husband and I got married, that’s where we went on our honeymoon. Beautiful place!
Author
That’s neat, Joy. I’ve not been there, but it sounds like a beautiful place for a honeymoon. Books can take us some great places in our imaginations and you took that a step farther by going to see what you had imagined.
My husband and I went to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands for our honeymoon in late March/early April. Although we were older (28 and 30) and both had been working for a number of years prior to our wedding, my husband’s family paid for the honeymoon, and my family paid for the wedding expenses. We stayed in the vacant home of some friends of my husband’s family. Sightseeing was interesting–we traveled to see a rain forest, snorkeled in a reef, visited a sugar mill, shopped in town, ate at restaurants and tried island cuisine. Since it was so different from anything familiar to me, I found it a perfect honeymoon.
St Croix is a beautiful little island. It’s a good place for a honeymoon. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Author
It does sound perfect, Suzanne. You were fortunate to have such a great place to begin your marriage where you got to do so many fun things. The sightseeing sounds wonderful. I tried snorkeling once, but the weather wasn’t right for it. Didn’t see any fish but had fun trying to learn how to do the snorkeling. I can tell you have wonderful memories of your honeymoon.
We got married in June, so went to the beach for our honeymoon – Ocean City, MD, where my husband got a terrible sunburn, but recovered quickly. Like you we didn’t have much money. Today I think we’d go somewhere else, but I’m not sure where. We did take an anniversary trip to the Bahamas that was wonderful.
Author
The beach sounds fun, Birdie. A sunburn doesn’t sound fun. Might have made cuddling a little hard for a while. The trip to the Bahamas sound nice. I think I’d like to take an Alaskan cruise, but so far I haven’t been able to make it work out.
I filled in on a two week Alaskan cruise. It was beautiful, but don’t let them kid you. The locals think it’s warm in the summer, but it’s the first July 4th celebration I’ve ever attended where I had to wear a jacket – not a windbreaker, but something warmer.
Author
Oh, I know I’d have to have a jacket no matter when it was in the summertime, Nancy. My mother and both sisters have taken Alaskan cruises and they, like you, advise jackets. 🙂
My husband was in the Air Force, stationed in Taiwan, and came home for our wedding. We told everyone we were going to Sun Moon Lake, a special place in Taiwan, for our honeymoon. We did get to go there later, but right after the wedding, we spent several nights snowbound in a cabin in the California Sierra Nevada! Thankfully there was plenty of firewood 🙂
Later, when we were in Taiwan, the chapel group from Jim’s base arranged a tour to Sun Moon Lake, so we got to go on our reported honeymoon location… with a group of mostly guys! That was when we discovered that Asian hotels put two people in a room with 2 beds! After the first night, we requested to change to a room with one, double bed. It turned out the 2 bed room had the better views of the lake 🙂
Author
That’s an interesting honeymoon story too, Margaret. Sound sort of fun in the telling when you say you were snowbound in a cabin although the imagination can sometimes eliminate the bad parts of something like that. Still, that might make a great setting or idea for a romance story. Snowbound Honeymoon. 🙂 And at least you eventually got to see your reported honeymoon location. Sun Moon Lake sounds like a beautiful place.
We married at the end of June 1969. Daddy paid for one night at the Marriot in Chicago. They even gave us a bottle of Champagne. We then set out for a duty station in Homestead, Florida. We saw the moon landing during the first two weeks before he had to report for duty. We did see a lot of sights around Miami. We stayed at my aunt’s house in Coral Gables. So our first whole year was sort of a honeymoon except my husband had to be in the Navy. We even got to see a live Jackie Gleeson show. We visited Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle and the Snake place. Florida wasn’t so bad for our first year.
Author
Not bad to have your first year be a honeymoon, Paula. And here’s more reptiles – the Snake Place. LOL. But you had some interesting experiences and things to remember about your honeymoon. Hard to think that the Moon Landing was 50 years ago.
I got married when I was seventeen, and my husband was four years older. Being from a small town in Indiana, we decided to honeymoon in the big city of Louisville. My husband didn’t have any idea what it would be like to drive in Louisville, and freaked out a bit at the traffic. We drove around until he figure out how to get out of there and drove us back home. I tried to get him to stop at a couple roadside attractions, but they were off the main drag and he wanted to keep on driving. The only place we stopped was at Reptile Land.
If I were going on a honeymoon today I would like to go back to Tallinn, Estonia.
Author
That’s a story to tell, Nancy, about your honeymoon. I was 17 when I married too, and my husband was 3 years older although part of the year he’s 4 years older. I would have definitely freaked out at the traffic when I first got married too. I guess you get smiles from people when you talk about your honeymoon at Reptile Land. I might have been ready to pass that on by. But sounds as though you’ve been to some interesting places since then. Thanks for sharing your honeymoon story.
We just went to Cave City to spend the night.We were broke but happy.Earlier this year though we went to San Antonio .We didn’t call it a second Honeymoon but we did enjoy our first long vacation with just the two of us.
Author
You caught the most important thing about a honeymoon, Lisa. The love you take on it with you. Glad you got to take a nice vacation last year.