For launch ships you break a bottle of wine or champagne on the bow because the ritual is there modern version of one ceremony existing since ancient world. It must be considered that launching is the event with which the vessel is put into water for the first time and it is a solemn moment celebrated with sumptuous ceremonies, which include launching a bottle of champagne against the hull. The ritual has origins in Greco-Roman worldwhen it was customary to ask for the protection of the gods by bathing ships in the blood of sacrificed animals. Over the centuries the ceremony has undergone various transformations, until it took on its current appearance. It may happen, however, that the bottle doesn’t break on the first try: it is an eventuality that seafarers consider a ominous omen.
What is a ship launching and how does the bottle ceremony work
The launching ceremony constitutes a sort of christening of the ship and consists of throwing a bottle of champagne against the hull. The ceremony is carried out for both military and civilian ships. Often the bottle is tied with a ribbon to the arm of a crane and thrown towards the bow of the boat. The ceremony is “officiated” by one godmotherwho is responsible for throwing the bottle. In the case of large ships, the role of godmother is assigned to famous people from entertainment or politics. The ceremony, widespread throughout the Western world, takes place at moment of launchthat is, when the ship is put into the water for the first time, which does not necessarily coincide with the end of the works.
The origins of the ceremony: why does a bottle break on the hull?
The ceremony has very ancient origins, but in its modern form it has existed for a few centuries. To understand it, we must consider that in the past sailing was very dangerous: there were no radios or other tools to communicate and ask for help; the hull construction techniques were much more rudimentary than current ones and the ships were not always able to withstand storms and the highest waves. For these reasons, shipwrecks were frequent.
When launching a ship, various rituals were used to curry favor with the deities, in particular the gods considered patrons of the sea and navigation, such as Poseidon/Neptune of the Greco-Roman religion. The ceremonies often involved sacrificing animals (a very widespread ritual in the religions of the ancient world) and to bathe the ship in the blood of the victims.
With the advent of Christianity the tradition did not disappear, but was modified. Since the Christian religion does not include animal sacrifices, the custom of using instead of blood spread holy water or red wine (which in the rite of the Eucharist represents the blood of Jesus).
Starting around the 18th century, the ceremony gradually lost its religious value and transformed into a secular ritualtaking on the appearance familiar to us. The ceremonies have become spectacular events, in which a large audience participates, and the figure of godmother. In the same century the sprinkling of the hull began to be carried out by throwing a bottle. However, even in the 19th century the ritual was not universally accepted and in some cases it was preferred to bathe the ship with liquids other than champagne, such as water from famous rivers.
What if the bottle doesn’t break? Unsuccessful ceremonies and superstitions
It may happen that the bottle of champagne is missing breaks on the first blow. The event is considered an omen of bad luck and it actually happened that the bottle did not break immediately during the launch ships that were then victims of shipwrecks. A recent case concerns the Costa Concordia, which was christened on 7 July 2006 (the actual launch, i.e. putting it into the water, had taken place the previous year). The bottle, thrown by model Eva Herzigova, hit the hull without breaking and a second throw was necessary to complete the ritual. The ship, as we know, sank near the island of Giglio in January 2012. It was, of course, a pure and simple coincidence, considering the fact that even ships whose launching ceremony took place without problems have then sink.
The news is circulating on the internet that the bottle did not break even during the launching of the Titanic, which in 1912, as we know, was the protagonist of the most famous shipwreck in history. However, it is one fake newswhich appears for the first time in a 1958 film, A Night to Remember (in Italy distributed with the title Titanic, latitude 41 north) and was then repeated several times. In fact, the company that owned the Titanic, White Star Lines, did not follow the custom of breaking bottles on the hull to christen the boats and therefore to launch the transatlantic no ceremony was performed of “baptism”.
