Good one, Peace.

Back in the day, Little Hawk, when towns were smaller and families were larger, a great many people took an interest in how a child was progressing. We've lost a lot of that.

I don't know how far back in history "marriage", as such, goes, LH, but the arrangements evidently were quite a bit more casual at one time. In Biblical days, "he went into her tent and knew her."

Incidentally, same-sex unions of one sort or another in the Bible are frequently implied, if nothing else, among them David and Jonathan:   ("That same day, when Saul had finished speaking with David, he kept him and would not let him return any more to his father's house, for he saw that Jonathan had given his heart to David and had grown to love him as himself. So Jonathan and David made a solemn compact because they loved the other as dearly as himself. And Jonathan stripped off the cloak he was wearing and his tunic, and gave them to David, together with his sword, his bow, and his belt.") If those words had been written about a man and woman we would entertain no doubts as to what kind of relationship they had.

And Jesus and the apostle John:
John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

John 21:20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

And later John referred to himself as the "apostle that Jesus loved."

I'm just sayin'.

* Much later, marriages between leaders frequently were negotiated for political security, in binding together two or more kingdoms.

* Weddings in ancient Greece were a major part of a person's life, especially for the bride-to-be. The weddings were usually arranged by the bride's parents (Kitto 220).

The marriage symbolized:

    * love
    * mutual respect
    * equality
    * and sacrifice

Incidentally, just when did the modern form of marriage begin and how was it created?