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Author
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Comment
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gigi
Unregistered User
(1/21/06 5:31 pm)
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Wedding traditions
Hello,
I am in the mood to write a descriptive piece and the topic I have chosen is a wedding.
I would like to know more about the wedding traditions you have had to undergo and/or learned about in your own lives and research.
I know about 'something old something borrowed something blue'. I really never understood this but apparently blue is supposed to symbolize fidelity and long lasting love. (Correct me if I am wrong.)
If you have any anecdotes about weddings from the actual ceremony to the macarena at the reception please I would love to hear it.
Oh and any outfits that one has to wear. Like my cousin's bride wore a red dress at the reception becasue red means good luck in Korea. (She was of Korean descent.)
I anticipate the great response from all of you and I hope my ignorance of weddings is destroyed.
Gigi
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(1/21/06 6:16 pm)
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Re: Wedding traditions
I happen to like best the smashing of the glass at Jewish weddings, which is essentially for good luck, but historically, it's supposed to refer to the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, and traditionally, I've heard that if the husband can do it in one blow it'll mean that he'll be the boss and otherwise that his wife will (typical--even a woman's bossiness isn't determined by what she does but by what her husband does), and I've heard that the couple will have a number of happy years equal to the number of shattered pieces of glass. These days, certain couples I am aware of are using a lightbulb instead of a glass (it's wrapped in a blanket so nobody cuts their feet) and calling it a glass because lightbulbs are easier to break than glasses, and I cannot help but feel that's cheating, but, hey, if it works for them...
In Chinese traditions the bride wears red too, for much the same reasons.
I also seem to remember that the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue rhyme ends with "and a lucky penny in her shoe," but I could be mistaken.
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evil little pixie
Registered User
(1/21/06 6:55 pm)
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Re: Wedding traditions
When I was born, one of my grandmother's friends gave my mother a lacy handkerchief loosely stitched into a baby's cap. I'm supposed to undo the stitches and carry the handkerchief on my wedding day as "something old."
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AliceCEB
Registered User
(1/21/06 8:41 pm)
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Re: Wedding traditions
In Jewish tradition, before the ceremony is performed the couple signs a wedding contract ("ketubeh") which originally was a contract from the groom to the bride, and was kept by the bride ("In exchange for seven goats, three sheep, and a newborn calf, you agree to marry me..."). The ketubeh is written in Aramaic, and has become, for many, a decorative commerative of the ceremony. It is supposed to be signed in front of two witnesses who are not members of the bride or groom's family.
The ceremony itself is performed under a canopy called a huppa that is supposed to be temporary in structure--a cloth held up by poles is common--and can be performed anywhere, indoors or out. During the ceremony, the bride walks around the groom seven times, once for each of seven blessings that are recited at the time. Exchange of rings are common, but truly all that is legally required under Jewish law is an exchange of something worth at least five shekels, and the saying of very short vows that essentially come down to, "I marry you, for real." Everything else (circling the groom, breaking the glass, using a huppa, etc.) are trappings and tradition, and not necessary for a valid marriage.
After the ceremony, the bride and groom go to a secluded room where they get a chance to eat a small snack and rest--although in some traditions it was an occasion to make sure the groom's bride really was a virgin.
Best,
Alice
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Tainn88
Registered User
(1/23/06 4:44 pm)
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White Dresses
Before Queen Vistoria popularized it, most brides (from england anyway) wore whatever color they wanted. But when Queen Victoria wore it, it symbolized purity and beauty.
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