Tradition!

One scholar thinks it was originally a custom of Ukranian Christians that was adopted by their Jewish neighbors. Among the Christians (so this scholar informed me) the idea was that whichever of the married couple reached and broke the glass first (it was a competition) would rule the marriage.

Among Jewish folk the custom is subject to varying interpretations. One is that it represents the bride's maidenhead(query: is the custom then NOT used at the marriage of a widow ? I don't know). Another is that it represents the dispersion of the Jewish people. One interpretation which I have NOT heard, but which I think deserves to become more widespread, is that the glass from which the couple drink the first common drink of their married life should never be used for any other purpose. All glasses break at last, but let this one be broken now, rather than in some pointless future accident.

T.