Figure 1.--This looks like a German wedding, we think in the 1960s. Notice the little boy, apparently chosen to be a flower boy at the wedding. |
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Weddings often seek to involve the entire family in some way. And her are may roles that family members of all ages and both genders can play. This includes even very young children. In American weddings the youngest boy in the family above a certain age serves as the ring bearer. The younger girls serve as the ring girl or girls. Unlike the ring bearer, there can be multiple flower girls. There are strict gender gender roles. Although the children are usually not old enough to understand the difference, the adults are. Apparently American decided that carrying flowers was appropriate for girls, but not for boys, even younger boys. This of course makes sense as families do not always have children of the right age and gender for the more definitive American roles. The same is not the case in Europe. While we do not have detailed country information, we note both boys and girls with flowers, there were both flower girls and flower children. We see that in both France and Germany. We are not sue yet about England, but are constantly expanding our country coverage. we are not sure why this difference developed between America and Europe.
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