<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7021747#post7021747 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
Some facts about Steve and his dating rules:
Much of Steve's courtship ritual still centers around church and family, as it did for generations past. Young people meet each other at the Sunday evening hymn sings, and a young man indicates his interest by offering a young lady a ride home in his buggy. Although males and females are seated in separate sections in home church services, there is plenty of opportunity to get better acquainted while eating lunch or taking a walk around the farmyard in the afternoon.
As dusk gathers on a Saturday evening, many a young man can be seen taking to the road in his single bench-seat buggy, piloting his horse to the home of a young lady who has agreed in advance to his visit. Sometimes the first visit is arranged by the young man's best friend, who seeks out the object of his affections to win permission to come calling. In some families, it is the head of the household who must be consulted first. In communities where the old ways are observed, the courtship is conducted in secret, with the suitor's buggy arriving under cover of darkness. But in many communities today, teens date more openly, and more frequently.
The couple spends the evening together at her home, playing board games, making popcorn or just chatting, with her parents and family present, or later, alone in the living room after the rest of the family has gone to bed. This form of courtship has given rise to the persistent rumors of "bundling". Bundling is a centuries-old custom that was practiced in many cultures. The tradition came about in an effort to save precious candle wax and fuel. The couple would get into bed, fully dressed, and cover up with a quilt to keep warm as the fire died out in the fireplace or wood-burning stove. Ask about the custom today, and someone is sure to tell you they know someone who is related to someone who met someone who may have once practiced bundling, but it is not done here any more.