It's a TIE!

Okay, I just had to post this. Lately, I have been wondering the traditions or rules that we have as a family because we have been studying what rules are and how the govern life and families in particular. So yesterday, Abi was playing with Dan's tie when he was getting her out of her car seat and I wondered to myself, why do men wear ties? What is so special about them?
This morning, I got my answer.... and in the text of my class none the less! Talk about the law of attraction right there people! My professor was teaching about rules and how sometimes we have rules that are more tradition and members of the family might not understand them. Anyway, here is the history behind why gentlemen wear ties! Enjoy!
In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over Turkey, a crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) visited Paris. There, the soldiers were presented as glorious heroes to Louis XIV, a monarch well-known for his eye toward personal adornment. It so happened that the officers of this regiment were wearing brightly colored silk handkerchiefs around their necks. These colorful neck cloths, which probably descended from the Roman fascalia worn by orators to warm the vocal chords, struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes.

It wasn't long before this new style crossed the channel to England. Soon no gentleman considered himself well-dressed without sporting some sort of cloth around his neck--the more decorative, the better. So, a fashion was born and the resulting cultural "rule" established. It has become a custom, and for many families a "rule": "All men in this family must wear a colorful piece of cloth around their necks. It has meaning." The meaning might be that one is conforming to the norm, joining in, trying hard to not stand out, showing reverence for custom and tradition, and so forth. But it actually makes little practical sense to wear a cloth around your neck, right? And to explain these rules and their "whys" is sometimes difficult when speaking to the ten-year-old who has taken the more practical, sane approach and simply wants to know why this particular piece of cloth is so important.