On Saturday nights across the country women doll themselves up and go out into towns all over the country for the great and noble pre-wedding tradition that is the hen night.
Gaggles of women take to the streets of Blackpool, Grimsby and other seaside resorts (and probably London as well) donning fake veils, L-plates, shower caps, matching team t-shirts and the obligatory ‘novelty items’ (some of which are long and hard, some of which are in various sizes and sometimes made of soft rubber). These groups of women, varying in age and in volume often take over whichever establishment is lucky enough to be graced with their presence and it is a wise move of any group of men to steer well clear of their dastardly ways.
It used to be that a night out was enough for this traditional wedding build up event, but as time has progressed so have the lengths that people go to to celebrate the last remaining nights of a woman's single life. A holiday to Tenerife, a weekend in Amsterdam or a day of ultra-relaxation in a country spa are all very regular (and rather expensive) events for a hen and her passionate friends.
So when did the hen and stag practice start? According to research the tradition of the stag night (which was around a long time before the hen night) dates back as far as the days of Henry VIII. Judging by his string of successful marriages, it looks like no matter how many parties you have it does not mean the marriages will end well. One imagines that his stags were rather sordid affairs and apparently if the King requested your presence, you had to attend or you’d be heading straight for the gallows. Do you think his subjects ever had the audacity to attach him naked to a lamp post or put him drunk on a train to Aberdeen? (Sure, I know there were no lamp posts or trains in the 16th century, but please work with me here!)
Historians maintain that the tradition of the stag night started much earlier than Henry’s time and maybe as early as the 5th century BC. It’s believed that the ancient Spartans would celebrate the final days of the grooms single life and make toasts and drink on his behalf to celebrate his last night as a single man. The hen night however started hundreds of years and only became popular in the 1960’s during the sexual revolution when women decided they should give the debauched men a run for their money - and why not? All good fun in the name of the bride!
But when did things start to go downhill with hen and stag nights? I suppose like in so many areas of modern society, people started to compete. Much like the elaborate marriage proposals we see on youtube and all over the internet these days, people started to wonder: who could have a bigger celebration? Who could get more drunk? Who could get wilder and more badly behaved? In fact, the behaviour of many hen nights has got to the point that there’s even a new TV programme launching next week called Hen’s Behaving Badly. Car crash tv let's be honest, and from the clips that have been shown as tasters, I think it will be a shocking example of the way our country's women can behave on one of these infamous nights out.
However, it’s not only the bad behaviour, it’s the sheer size of the celebrations that are getting out of control. Asking your friends to fork out for a long weekend in mainland Europe seems rather excessive no matter how much they may love you and want to celebrate your upcoming nuptials (or rather you few days remaining before you undergo them.
