May unlucky for weddings
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
This is a Roman superstition, and is referred to by Ovid. In this month were held the festivals of Bona Dea (the goddess of chastity), and the feasts of the dead called Lemuralia.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “May unlucky for weddings” mean?
This is a Roman superstition, and is referred to by Ovid. In this month were held the festivals of Bona Dea (the goddess of chastity), and the feasts of the dead called Lemuralia.
Is “May unlucky for weddings” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.