what are your cultural wedding traditions?
By pagli84
@pagli84 (1850)
Netherlands
October 10, 2007 3:14pm CST
i am interested in learning more about cultural wedding traditions. what do you do in your weddings?
coming from an afghan culture, we have very complex wedding traditions. first off, there is usually an engagement party and, traditionally, the man asks the parents for their daughter's hand in marriage. at the time of the wedding, there is a show-e-kheena which is when the families get together the night before the wedding. show-e-kheena translates to 'the night of henna' so its basically where the bride and groom get henna put on one of their hands.
then its the wedding day. it takes a lot of decorations, planning, food, money, etc. usually weddings are huuuuuge. whoever remotely knows the bride and groom show up, so there are usually hundreds of people. in most weddings there is a live band or singer. they do the islamic traditions of carrying the Quran over the couple's head, putting a scarf over the couple's head when they are seated so they can look at each other in a mirror and read the Quran, and the related males get together to discuss the money issues. there is also a traditional dance called attan which is done by the girls when they bring out the henna and candles to the couple.
there are a lot of traditions, so it would take forever to explain all of them, but just gimme some of yours in a nutshell!
2 people like this
3 responses
@trinihd (996)
• United States
11 Oct 07
We have many different cultures in our country so there are many different traditions for each. I can only speak of what I know...the catholic tradition...and of that I don't really know a whole lot. First off, for the proposal, the groom wouldn't normally ask for permission of the parents, but there are some men who still do out of courtesy more than anything else. And for an engagement, there is usually a small gathering, there may be a priest involved...as far as I remember...some kind of ceremony. Then there are the usual bachelor and bachelorette (usually called Bridal or Wedding shower) nights where the guys and gals (respectively) hang out with the groom and bride and there are some varied and "outlandish" traditions attached to these gatherings as well. Then there may be a rehearsal dinner, depending on the family...not everyone does that sort of thing...but there is the rehearsal in the church that is done prior to the wedding. Also, early in the engagement period, the couple may enroll in something called "marriage encounter" (or is it engaged encounter...?) to help them realise what they are about, and if they are really up to it....I think some people change their minds after doing this...not sure! Not all couples do this. Then there is the wedding...with decorations, food, etc all depending on how much the budget is of course. Invitations are usually given out, and in some cases, there will be those relatives (or even non-relatives) who show up uninvited...! The night of the wedding there are some traditions like the speeches, cake cutting, first dance, throwing the bridal bouquet and the garter...although some people don't do the latter. You may have seen some of these traditions on shows like My Best Friend's Wedding.
@Goldenseason (3)
• China
11 Oct 07
it seems very interesting. I think brides in your country are happy.
@sang2k2 (1833)
• India
11 Oct 07
hi,
im from india, my tradition has the following ceremonies hel for wedding function and it also depends upon the family as well. it starts with choosing the girl and guy after tht on a decided day the guy n girl family exchange some sweets and fruits and a few things here and there this marks that the girl and the guy are engaged.
After this day a few days prior to the wedding the girl and the guy exchange the rings and by exchanging the rings, complete heart is formed.Fourth finger of the hand is associsated with the heart.The ring is put in the left hand.
Then the next day is mehendi day wherein the henna paste is prepared n applied on d hands and legs of the girl and the guy as well.Various types of patterns are made.The girl and the guy are dressed very well on the weedding day along with the friends and family members. the girl is covered from top to the toe with her clothes and shud evn wear socks on her legs.Then the brahman reads some mantras. then thy take 3 feras and thn kanyadan takes palce.and the hastamilap....and the marriage ceremoney ends likes this.
