Wedding Traditions From Around the World
The word wedding:
The derivation of the word "wed" comes from the Ancient Greek for "pledge" which means "to make a solemn, binding promise". The wedding, although it hasn’t been as formalised as it is now, has been one of the most important events through all cultures in history.
The wedding promise is always made before the immediate families of the Bride and Groom, who witness the event, sometimes to ensure that it did take place.
The nature of the pledge has always varied from culture to culture.
Weddings in different cultures
With the intermingling of peoples and cultures in the recent past, many aspects of cultural life have been lost. But to counteract that people nowadays try very hard to maintain their cultural heritage.
So take your time to look at Bridal Customs in different countries.
Greek Wedding Traditions:
Engagement
The engagement of a Greek couple is carried out in the presence of their families where the couple exchange rings. This ceremony is considered to be as binding as the wedding itself.
Pre Wedding traditions
The weddings usually take place on a Sunday and on the Wednesday before the ceremony there is the "starting the leaven". In this a boy and girl sift flour as the relatives look on in silence. When there is enough they throw coins into the sieve and call out good luck wishes.
On the Friday (two days before the wedding ceremony) there is the "filling of the sacks" where the Bride’s mother puts a copper pan into a sack. The Bride fills other sacks with all her belongings while well-wishers throw coins into the sacks as well.
At the same time the Groom is sending wine to his friends and relatives as an invivtation to the the wedding feast, the Bride’s father does the same for her side of the family.
On Saturday the Bride goes out with her friends to invite other girls to the wedding feast, she gives out sweets rather than wine.
The Wedding Day Ceremony
On Sunday, the wedding procession starts at the Groom’s house where a special flag is raised and a flag-bearer leads the Priest, the Groom and his family through the streets to the Bride’s house. The Bride’s mother offers the Groom wine and when he has drunk it the Bride sets off for the church accompanied by a male relative and the rest of the party follow.
Greek Brides wear red or yellow veils, which symbolize fire in order to protect the Bride from evil spirits. Also the Bride carries a lump of sugar with her to ensure her life will be sweet.
At the ceremony the Bride and Groom are literally crowned by the Koumbaros is the most important man at a Greek wedding (though you can have a woman, a Koumbara): It is their task to exchange the crowns three times above the heads of the couple at the wedding. Often he is the Godfather of the Groom, but can be anyone who it is agreed should have this great honour.
When the ceremony is complete the Bride goes with the Groom back to his home where the flag is raised once more and the Bride throws a piece of old iron onto the roof as a symbol of the strength of her new road.
Wedding Food
Food is very important in Greek celebrations, and the wedding is no exception:
Koufetta is key to any wedding. These bittersweet fresh almonds symbolise that a marriage has both good and bad in it. The ones made for weddings are coated in sugar, as a promise that the couple will have more good than bad. The wedding bed is sprinkled with them then the guests are given an odd number of them from the bed (it’s an odd number to show that the couple are now one and cannot be divided). Unmarried women can put them under their pillow at night and will dream of their future husband.
Other traditions
At Greek weddings the dishes are smashed on the floor for good luck. Instead of a bouquet a Bride may throw a pomegranate. Since ancient times the pomegranate has symbolised death (the red juice) and fertility in the abundance of seeds they have.
Wedding rings are worn on the right hand and there is no "vow" as such. The Greeks see all weddings as a love match and there is no legal force because they will stay together anyway.
Irish Wedding Traditions:
A traditional Irish wedding is a tricky thing to manage, because it depends on the century and the part of Ireland you want it to be a part of. Ireland has so much tradition that it’s hard to know where to start.
Origin of the word Honeymoon
The word "Honeymoon" itself comes from the Irish tradition. Mead (honey wine) is drunk at the wedding feast and for a full month (one moon, hence a honey moon) after the wedding by the couple. It was intended to promote fertility (perhaps by breaking down inhibitions!) and also protect from the Little Folk who might try to carry the Bride off (which might have been a story concocted to encourage the drinking of the mead to achieve the oher aspect).
Magic Hanky
Something which has not spread into other cultures is the "Magic Hanky". The Bride carries a handerkerchief which, with a few stitches, can be turned into a baby’s christening bonnet. Then by removing the stitches it can be changed back to a hanky that the child can carry at their own wedding.
Fairy folk
There was a lot of trouble with the fairy folk in Ireland so many traditions have to do with avoiding all the possible ways the little people could interfere with your life or worse, carry the beautiful bride away:
Wedding bells
Giving a bell at a wedding is a tradition that represents the idea that bells drive away evil spirits.
Good luck and what to avoid!
More protection aginst the evil of the world is achieved by the Bride and Groom eating three mouthfuls of oatmeal and salt at the start of the wedding feast.
When dancing the Bride must keep one foot on the ground so that the fairies can’t carry her away.
It should be a man that first wishes the Bride good luck, not a woman; hearing a cuckoo is good luck as is seeing three magpies; unthe Greeks, breaking a glass or cup is bad luck; Bride and Groom must not wash their hands at the same time in the same basin; marrying when the moon is waxing is good for fertility; and a shoe must be thrown over the head of the Bride as she leaves the church;
Colours
Despite the colour green being associated with Ireland it is very important that the Bride does not wear anything green because that is an open invitation for the fairy folk to take her.
Blue is the colour to choose, for purity. Similarly she mustn’t sing because one of the faerie might be so entranced with her voice they’ll come after her.
Claddagh ring
A Claddagh ring has become popular since, according to legend, the 16th century when a fishing boat was captured by Algerian pirates and the crew sold as slaves. One of the crew was Richard Joyse who was to be married the same week. The ring symbolises undying loyalty.
Luck money
Once upon a time the Groom’s family bought the Bride from her family, this has changed to "luck money" where the Groom presents a coin to his Bride to ensure happiness and good luck.
Jumping the Broom
"Jumping the Broom" is a common practice in African-American culture but also exists in the Irish tradition. It dates back to a custom where the woman would ensure the fertility of crops by jumping or riding the broom.
Italian Wedding Traditions:
One tradition in Italy is that the couple must walk to the church together through the town. As they go the townsfolk put barriers in their way, such as a small child. If the Bride looks after and helps the child then he will be a good mother; or if she picks up the broom she will keep a clean house. They might even come across a log that must be cut in half with a double-handled saw. They work together and this represents their life together.
Tying the knot
A ribbon may be tied across the the front of the church or chapel symbolising the tying of the knot
Good luck traditions
The Groom may carry a piece of iron in his pocket to ward off evil while the Bride wears a veil to avoid being carried off or cursed by jealous spirits, though tearing the veil at the end of the ceremony is considered good luck.
Similar to the Greek tradition suger-covered almonds are eaten symbolising the bitter-sweet nature of marriage. In Italy they are tied into mesh bags which are thrown at the couple. They are also distributed in odd numbers, as they are in Greece, though in Italy the numbers are either in threes, for children, or fives for prosperity.
As they leave the church the guests will shower the couple with confetti (either rice or paper) which is intended to bring good luck to them.
The Bride shouldn’t wear any gold until she is given the ring by the Groom. She may also carry a satin bag ("la borsa") which is passed around the guests who place envelopes of money which helps to offset the cost of the wedding.
This particular tradition varies, sometimes the Bride will give dances to the male guests in return for their gifts while in other places the Bride’s grandmother will be in charge of la borsa.
Another way of raising money is for the Groom to have his tie cut up into little pieces and sold as a memento of the celebrationAgain the Greek customs the bride and Groom will break a glass, in this case the number of pieces it shatters into indicates the number of years the couple will share together. They may also release doves.
Wedding reception
Traditional Italian wedding receptions may have up to 14 courses, but prior to the meal the Best man will serve the guests with a sweet aperitif and a toast is given "Per cent’anni" which means "for a hundred years".
When things go quiet in at a reception one of the male guests will shout out a special toast "Eviva gli sposi" which means "Hurrah for the Newlyweds!" The other guests will react very loudly and that usually gets things going again. Alternatively they might use "A kiss for the Bride" which means the Groom must kiss the Bride which again gets things going.
During the reception the guests will dance the Tarantella, and the men hold their jackets open to the side, to demonstrate they are not carrying any weapons.
After the dinner the wedding cake is cut and served to the guests with espresso and coffee.