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T<\/span>hose envisioning the \u201cperfect\u201d proposal often imagine the person proposing on one knee. But where does this tradition come from?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There are mixed stories related to the origin of proposing on one knee, <\/span><\/span>according to Reader\u2019s Digest<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome say it hearkens back to medieval times, when knights knelt before ladies,\u201d a 2022 article states. \u201cOthers guess that because it was a sign of surrender during feudal wars that men did it as a symbol of surrendering their will and fortune to their beloved (and to show her family they weren\u2019t a threat). Or it may stem from the Persian tradition of prostrating oneself on the ground to show respect.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n However, the article says proposing on one knee is mostly a Western tradition that began in the 1960s. Prior to that, most marriages were arranged as business agreements with little fanfare.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Like many of the traditions we\u2019ve highlighted, kneeling on one knee to propose is not necessary and up to each couple\u2019s unique situation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n “Getting down on one knee doesn’t change the question that’s being asked, and I think, from an etiquette perspective, that’s why it hasn’t been a requirement,” says Lizzie Post, etiquette expert at the\u00a0The Emily Post Institute and author of “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette 6th Edition, in <\/span><\/span>a Martha Stewart article<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a>. “But in general, if you have preferences or expectations about your engagement experience, that’s something you should be sharing with your partner-if it means that much to you.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n