We decided to discover the origins and the meaning of this tradition.

Why is a bottle of wine broken to launch a ship?

The ship launching is the event in which the boat goes, for the first time, to sea, ready to welcome sailors and guests. Usually the ritual ends with a bottle of wine being broken on the bow.

We can give a first general answer to the question: why do we break a bottle of wine to launch a ship?

When launching a ship, a bottle of wine is broken because it is considered a ritual of good luck and protection for the ship and its crew.

Its origins are very ancient.

The ritual involved the sacrifice of an animal, whose blood was sprinkled on the bow as an offering to the gods, so that they would protect the ship and its crew from the dangers of the sea. The Romans even used to sprinkle the eyes of sacrificed animals on their ships. The meaning of this custom lies, once again, in the possible difficulties encountered during navigation: equipping the ship with "extra eyes" was a way to ensure greater protection, especially when visibility was limited and the route difficult to distinguish. It was believed that these "eyes" could guide the ship along the safest and most correct "path".

In the 19th century, wine began to be used, usually red wine. Bottles of red wine were smashed on the bow of the ship in a sort of metaphorical reenactment of the original ceremonies: the red wine, spilled due to the breaking of the bottle, represented the blood of the sacrificed animal.

If the bottle, for various reasons, did not break, it was considered a negative sign, so much so that, often, the ships did not set sail to avoid nefarious events. Instead, the breaking of the bottle was interpreted as a blessing and a sign of divine protection.

Now we can definitively answer our question: why is a bottle of wine broken at the launch of a ship?

At the launch of a ship, a bottle of wine is broken because this gesture symbolically evokes ancient auspicious ceremonies, in particular, the blood of animals sacrificed and offered to the gods.

Over the last century, the ritual of launching a ship has changed. One of the most important changes was the replacement of red wine with champagne or sparkling wines in general, chosen for their more festive and "scenic" nature, better suited to a more modern celebration. Obviously, this change led to the loss of the metaphorical association with the original ritual of sacrificing animals to the gods.

The idea that the non-breaking of the bottle is a negative signal has been preserved. A belief often reinforced by some episodes. For example, it seems that, in 1912, at the launch of the Titanic, something went wrong and the bottle of wine did not break. What happened a few days later is well known to everyone, so much so that even at the time it caused strong tensions in public opinion.

If you have attended the launching of a ship, after reading this article, you will certainly have a clearer idea of the meaning of this ceremony.