History of Westchester County, New York, Vol. I
The minister finished the ceremony by kissing the bride; then all the gentlemen followed his example, while it was the bridegroom's privilege to kiss each of the ladies. A bride might receive the salutations of a hundred men in the course of the day; and as if this were not enough, the men called on the bride afterward, and this call was colloquially known as " going to kiss the bride." A practice among the ruder frontier people was to carry off the bride and hold her prisoner until she was ransomed by the groom providing entertainment for the captors.
The ancient custom of erecting May-poles and dancing around them prevailed until a late day.
■ This and succeeding extracts from the colonial laws of New Amsterdam and New York are from the " Historical Magazine." published by Henry B. Dawson, at Morrisania. Mr. Dawson enjoyed fnll authority from the New York City authorities to examine the records. Translations of the Dutch documents were carefully made under his supervision from the originals and compared with the Westbrook translations.
Sometimes, when a bridegroom had given offense by evincing stinginess, not inviting his friends to his wedding-feast, or in the case of an ill-matched couple, a May-pole adorned with ragged stockings in lieu of flowers was placed before his door. New Year's day was celebrated among the New York Dutch by the calls of gentlemen upon their female friends, who set out tables with great stock of eatables and potables. This day and the church festivals, kept alike by the Dutch and English, brought an intermission of labor to the New York slaves, who gathered in throngs to devote themselves to wild frolics. Debauchery presently usurped the place of innocent enjoyment and these assemblages were converted into orgies. Consequently, on December 1, 1655, the Council proclaimed " that from this time forth, on the New Year and May-days, there shall be no firing or May-poles planted ; nor shall there be any beating of the drum ; nor shall there be on the occasion any wines, brandywines or beer dealt out" under a fine of twelve guilders for the first ofl^ense, twenty-four for the second and corporal correction for the third.