TravelPulse and others are sharing that Wheel of Fortune star, Vanna White has been chosen as the godmother of the new Carnival Panorama.
The Holland America Line Blog has a great article about the history of cruise ship godmothers,
“Today’s modern cruise ships have godmothers that participate in the naming ceremony and wish them well with a champagne (traditionally) bottle break against the hull. Holland America Line has had notable godmothers such as Queens Maxima and Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, tennis legend Chris Evert and Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin. But where did this tradition come from? This compilation of articles from Oasis Travel Network and Cruise118.com, as well as information for our own Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, provides a few thoughts on the history of godmothers.
Since the ancient Babylonian, Greek and Roman times, deities have been called upon to keep ships safe on the water. Nearly every world culture has a traditional ceremony to launch a new ship. While the Ottoman Empire sacrificed sheep to then feast upon, today’s passenger ships are christened by a godmother with the traditional breaking a bottle of champagne on the hull.
It is believed that a godmother brings a feminine benevolent spirit to the ship and protects the future sailings. Interestingly, in the Middle Ages women on a ship were considered bad luck and not allowed to sail on merchant or military vessels. Sailors feared a woman on board would anger the sea gods and cause bad weather and rough sailing. In fact, there were times if a woman was discovered on board a ship, she would be thrown overboard.
In the past, it was always men who held sway over proceedings, with everyone from the ship’s captain or member of royalty to a politician, priest or religious elder responsible for sending a vessel on its way.”
Here’s the link for the Holland America line blog: https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/news/why-do-cruise-ships-have-godmothers/
Click on the link below for the Travel Pulse story about Vanna White:
