A Shaming Serenade Gone Wrong
A citizen writes to the editor to defend a newly married couple from a violent, unwanted 'charivari' performance.
To the editor of the Gazette: I wish to rectify a statement made in your paper in the issue of January 5. It must be said that your local correspondent at Clear Creek has been wrongly informed. The 'serenade' which was spoken of in regard to a young married couple, was not such as should be practiced by a sensible and civilized lot of people; but rather an act which heathen would scorn to perform. In regard to a wagon spoke being thrown by some occupant of the house, that is a mistake. If any one was injured that night, it was done by some one other than the occupants of the house. Had the boys kept in the bounds of reason, nothing would have been said, and they would have had their expected treat. Boys, take the advice of one who loves peace and abhors trouble, and be careful what you say.
“The 'serenade' which was spoken of in regard to a young married couple, was not such as should be practiced by a sensible and civilized lot of people.”
The practice of 'serenading'—often a noisy, ritualized disruption of a wedding night known as a charivari—was a common, sometimes dangerous social custom. This letter highlights the tension between communal 'right' to harass newlyweds for a treat and the demand for domestic privacy.
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