The first references to Western stag nights in the Oxford English Dictionary date to the 19th century.[2] Traditionally, stag nights involved a black tie banquet hosted by the father of the groom that included a toast in honour of the groom and bride.[3] Since the 1980s, some bachelor parties in the United States have involved vacationing to a foreign destination,[3] or have featured female company such as strippers or topless waitresses.
In 1896, Herbert Barnum Seeley, a grandson of P. T. Barnum, threw a stag party (known as the "Awful Seeley Dinner") for his brother at the restaurant Sherry's in New York City. The party had a dancer nicknamed "Little Egypt" who allegedly danced naked in desserts. The party was dissolved in the early morning by an officer. Afterwards, the Seeley family brought the police officer to the police board trial for "conduct unbecoming to an officer of the law."[5] At that time, that incident brought the light to the "behind closed doors" matters with bachelor parties.
The term "bachelor", originally meaning "a young knight-in-training", was first mentioned in the 14th century to refer to an unmarried man in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. In 1922, the term "bachelor party" was published in William Chambers's Journal of Literature, Science and Arts and was described as a "jolly old" party.[4]
In Canada, some choose instead to hold a stag and doe, or a hag party or hag do in the UK ("hag" being a combination of the words "hen" and "stag"), in which both the bride and groom attend.[6] These events may often provide an opportunity to fundraise for the wedding itself.
Canadian stag nights may extend into weekend affairs, sometimes involving travel to a cottage or cities around Canada, and occasionally Las Vegas as well. As in South Africa, the itinerary of a stag event is frequently kept hidden from the groom-to-be. The Australian terminology 'buck' rather than 'stag' is sometimes used.
In the province of Manitoba particularly, a "social" is often held rather than a stag and doe, in which the public are invited to attend a large evening party at a rented pub or event venue. Tickets are sold at the door or online, there is usually a cash bar and silent auction, and a traditional buffet of regional snack foods known as a 'midnight lunch' will be served throughout the evening.
In France and in many French-speaking regions such as Quebec, the bachelor party is called enterrement de vie de garon, which literally means "(the) burial of the life as a boy" or "burial/funeral of the life as a bachelor". For women it is enterrement de vie de jeune fille, translated as "burial/funeral of the life as a young girl/maiden". Bachelor parties were known as early as the 1830s, when in the Charpennes neighborhood of Lyon groups of young men would dine at the restaurant of La Mere Brigousse on her famous dish of enormous dumplings les ttons de Vnus (Venus's breasts).[7]
Some parts of Germany have a related custom, in which a person who is not yet married by their 30th birthday, is made to dress up in an embarrassing fashion by their friends and to do silly tasks that most often include some kind of cleaning work.
In Israel, the bachelors party is called מסיבת רווקים (mesibat ravakim), literally meaning bachelor party. Such parties may feature heavy drinking and sometimes the presence of strippers,[8] or else other recreational bonding activities undertaken together, such as paintball or an overseas trip lasting a few days.
Bachelor parties in South Africa are expected to be a surprise, which is a unique regional variant. The party is planned without the groom's knowledge and is typically a couple days before the wedding. A bachelor party can include many family members and friends, and it isn't limited to the wedding party. It often includes a traditional braai.
In Sweden bachelor parties are known as Svensexa. They are documented since the 17th century; it is believed the tradition began with the bachelorette party, Mhippa, which was then followed by a male version. [9] The parties were first called Svenafton, meaning Sven's Eve.[9] Sven is a Swedish first name, meaning "young man" and also used in connection with male virginity. The parties were disliked by the church as they involved heavy drinking and the participants would show up to the wedding hung over or drunk.[9] In the 19th century it was reformed by the bourgeoisie, and it became known as Svensexa, where sexa was a new word for a late-night party with dinner and alcohol that started at six o'clock with drinks and snacks.[9][10] There were no activities at Swedish bachelor parties, other than food and alcohol, until the 1960s or 1970s. Since then they have developed to full-day or weekend events, traditionally starting with a kidnapping followed by activities that might involve humiliation of the bachelor.[9] They are usually not held the day before the wedding, but a few weekends before.
In the United Kingdom, it is now common for the party to last for more than one evening, hence the increasing prevalence of the phrase "stag weekend", or "stag do". A spin-off has been the growth of the stag weekend industry in the UK with various companies taking over the preparation of the event.[12]
In the UK, stag weekend trips are becoming mini-holidays with the groups taking part in various day-time activities as well as the expected night out on the town. They may involve travelling to another location in the UK or going abroad,[13] with Krakw, Dublin, and Riga topping the list, followed by Prague, Amsterdam, Bratislava, and Budapest.[14] Stag parties abroad have been known to involve visits to brothels and prostitutes, although this is in the minority of cases.[15]
In the United States, Las Vegas is both a popular bachelor party destination and location for the wedding itself.[13] Increasingly, "destination bachelor parties" are replacing standard nights out, with Americans traveling to Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, or abroad to Mexico.[16]
Bachelor parties in the US stereotypically entail the mass consumption of alcohol, hiring a stripper, and general rowdiness to which the bride might not have a positive reaction; in fact, the defining feature of the bachelor party is that the fiance is not present. Increasingly, bachelor parties have come to symbolize the last time that the groom is free from the influence of his new wife/partner.[17] Pop out cakes are sometimes associated.[18]
Honestly, I really can't remember a time without the outdoors in my life. Being born and raised on the Oregon Coast, the beaches (our great birthright), the sand dunes, the national forest in my backyard, the rivers and the mountains are a huge part of who I am. They are why I work towards protecting special places along the coast in my career with the Surfrider Foundation.
For me, the Southern Oregon Coast has always been the place that matters the most to me. I remember my first spring break road trip to this area with my dad and brothers around the age of 12. As we rounded the corner at Port Orford and looked south towards the open ocean, sea stacks of Redfish Rocks, and the majestic Humbug Mountain, I fell in love and vowed to return to this place and eventually live there one day. One of my favorite stories about this place is from my bachelor party.
When you and your friends are avid outdoor enthusiasts and actively work to conserve these special places for future generations, you've got to plan something wild and epic. Having fallen in love with the Southern Oregon Coast, I knew exactly where I wanted to go when I started planning for my bachelor party.
My best man is the owner and pro guide of South Coast Tours, an ocean kayak outfitter operating on the Southern Oregon Coast. We assembled a crew of 8 including my best friends, my dad, as well as a couple of my closest co-workers. Some had their own kayaks, some hadn't really done much paddling, none of them knew that their minds would be blown by the amazing section of coastline that we were setting out to explore.
We arrived at my best man Dave's house in Gold Beach on Friday night. After a hearty BBQ with locally grown oysters, steak, and craft beer, the anticipation for the next morning was beginning to build. We knew that we had a narrow weather window for our open ocean adventure, since the Northwest winds were expected to pick up early and blow hard so we would need to be quick on the first day and duck behind the lee to get shelter from the wind at Crook Point.
We awoke early and checked the marine forecast, our narrow window looked like it was getting even narrower so we decided to go for it. Launching 9 kayaks at the crack of dawn off Pistol River must've been an interesting sight for any passersby on the adjacent HWY 101. As we hit the water, you could see the whitecaps from the NW wind only about a mile or two offshore and heading our way, we scrambled as fast as we could south towards the point where we would find shelter in the lee.
It might've only been a couple of miles that we paddled that first day, but we barely made it around the corner before the wind kicked up to about 30 mph. Safely on the beach, we set up camp, only to have our tents blown over and filled with sand from the howling wind. Most of us being keen fishermen, we had brought our gear and planned to go out and catch dinner from the offshore rocky reef, we had all of the fixings for gourmet fish tacos. We paddled out to try our luck, but you couldn't even feel the bottom as the wind and current were pushing us so hard. We gave up before it totally blew us south and made it impossible to even make it back to camp.
The area where we camped was part of the Crook Point Wildlife Refuge and access is restricted apart from wildlife biologists who monitor seabird populations and conservation workers who manage the land. Fortunately we were camping in the thin strip of dry say, part of the Oregon State Parks managed Ocean Shore Recreation area, or as former iconic Governor Oswald West labeled it "our great birthright". If it hadn't been for Oregon's legendary late 60's passage of the Beach Bill, we could've been charged with trespassing.
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