The Galleon, Volume 18, Number 2, March 1942 Page: 18
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Galleon and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the McMurry University Library.
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Ckiairie
A QUAINT CUSTOM
By Ruth lossBANG! BANG! CLATTER!
CLANG! Of course you are won-
dering what those sounds mean. If
you have never been to an old fash-
ioned Chivairie, it might be hard for
you to recognize the noise.
Back in those good old days, when
your father and mother were getting
married, the chivairie was the most
popular way of starting a young
couple off on the journey of a happy
married life.
It made no difference what kind
of wedding you had, or how often
you entertained, you were not prop-
erly "sent off" without a chivairie
and every newly married couple ex-
pected this hazing and prepared for
it. Usually it took place about the
third night after they were married.
Most of the time they waited until
the couple had gotten settled in their
own home.
About ten o'clock on the night of
the chivairie, the young people of
the community would meet at some
home and in a group descend on the
couple in their new home. They
were awakened by such sounds as
you have never heard, unless you
have been a victim of a chivairie.
The couple had no warning, for
the group had crept up to the house
without a sound, and then all at once
they would give the signal. Then
the beating on pans, blowing whistles,
banging on the doors and singing at
the top of their voices, "I wish I were
single again," would begin. The
performance would end with a sere-
nade by the community musicians.
Six or eight of the young men, who
18-THE GALLEONplayed french harps, mandolins,
guitars, and fiddles would furnish
the music. After they had rendered
some half dozen selections, the newly
weds would invite the entire crowd to
come in the house and partake of
some kind of refreshments, which
were always prepared ready to serve
and held in readiness for the oc-
casion.
After the repast came the showing
of the new home. The guests were
taken about over the house, shown
the wedding gifts, and then when the
boys retired to the yard for a smoke,
the bride would satisfy her vanity by
showing off all her linens, quilts,
and usually her trousseau, including
all her new house dresses and cook
aprons.
It would likely be in the wee hours
of the morning before the guests
even thought of departing. Some-
times if there was a vacant room,
for often young married people
would furnish only a part of the
house, they would turn the affair
into an old fashioned square dance
that lasted until daylight.
Of course the young people were
always properly chaperoned. Gen-
erally two married couples went
along, for no bride and groom were
considered proper chaperones.
Once in awhile a couple would
get married and decide to out-wit
the crowd. They would pretend
they were not at home. They could
not get by with this, for somebody
had watched the place to see that
they did not leave and if they did
go somewhere, they were followed
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McMurry College. The Galleon, Volume 18, Number 2, March 1942, periodical, March 1942; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth137808/m1/20/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting McMurry University Library.