Wednesday, 27 May 2009

• Weddings Around the World

  
  image source

  Well it's almost here...June and wedding season. I went through my entire childhood having never been subjected to a frosting pink dress, tossing petals down an aisle. However, come my twenties, and seemingly everyone I know is getting hitched. Getting hitched which begets gifts begets new dress begets a lot of annoying obligations and traditions to adhere to.

  SOOO I was doing some pondering as to what wedding ceremonies and traditions were like in other countries. A little research and lotsa Googling later, and here are some of the more interesting things I found out.

  African Wedding Traditions-Family is very important to the wedding tradition in almost every African country. Aside from that, the wedding traditions vary throughout the land and in different tribes and cultures. In Sudan, a bride is paid for in cattle or sheep by the husband as a payment for the loss of labor that her family will experience. A wife may cost 30-40 cattle. In Somalia, a man may have as many as four wives if he can afford them all. Also, a girl may become engaged before she is even born! My only question-has the groom been born? Or is he still a gleam in his father's eye?

  Bermudan Wedding Traditions-In Bermuda, the wedding cakes will be topped with a tiny sapling. After the wedding reception, the newlyweds will plant  the young tree at their home, in the sentiment that, as they watch their tree grow, the marriage in turn will also grow. If every American couple did that,  what a wonderful green world we would have!
  

  Chinese Wedding Traditions-Red is the central color of Chinese weddings. No white dress here! In addition to the red dress, the invitations will also usually be red. Before the wedding, the bride will go into seclusion with her close friends to mourn the loss of friends and family. On the morning of the wedding, the groom will bring a gift of cash, wrapped in red tissue paper, to give to the bride's friends to pay for their loss. Hmmm, in the U.S., the friends are usually paying for everything from the bridal shower to the cost to dye a pair of pumps powder pink!

  German Wedding Traditions-It was in Germany that the tradition of the best man began. In ancient Germany, a man might have to kidnap his bride from a neighboring village. To do so, he would need his strongest friend (his "best man") to help with the kidnapping and to stand by and protect him at the wedding ceremony in case any relatives of the bride try to take her back!

  Norwegian Wedding Traditions-In Norway, two small pine trees will be planted on either side of the newlyweds front door as a symbol of fertility.

  Swedish Wedding Traditions-In Sweden, the mother and father of the bride will place a gold and a silver coin in the shoes of the bride in the hopes that she will never be poor (maybe because mom and dad are footing the wedding bill?). Also in Sweden it is traditional for the wife to wear three rings-an engagement ring, a wedding band, and a ring of motherhood.

  What traditions does your family follow? Have you ever seen a wedding ceremony of a different culture? For more information about weddings around the world, click here
  

  • 2:14 PM
  • 1322 Views
  • 8 eProps
  • 4 Comments