Wedding Traditions

Wedding

A wedding is a ceremony where two or more people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift (offering, rings, symbolic item, flowers, money, dress), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs originating in Ancient Rome.

Traditions

Wedding reception

Wikipedia article: Wedding reception

A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. It is held as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receives society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts provide their choice of food and drink, although a wedding cake is popular. Entertaining guests after a wedding ceremony is traditional in most societies, and can last anywhere from half an hour to many hours or even days.

Before receptions-a social event that is structured around a receiving line, and usually held in the afternoon-became popular, weddings were more typically celebrated with wedding breakfasts (for those whose religious traditions encouraged morning weddings) and balls (for those who were married in the evening). The popularity of receptions, rather than breakfasts, dinners, and balls, during the 20th century led to the name reception being applied to any social event after a wedding, whether it is brunch, tea, dinner, or a dance.

Wikipedia article: Ahesta Boro

Ahesta Boro (Persian: literally "walk slowly", figuratively "walk graciously") is a musical composition played to welcome the bride and groom’s entrance to the wedding hall in weddings in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Usually the accompanied couple is walked slowly under the sanction of the Glorious Quran as the attending guests rise in honor of the holy book. This anthem is a very strong tradition in these marriage ceremonies. The song was originally written by Sarban, who had his inspiration from the cultural folklore.

Bridal Chorus

Wikipedia article: Bridal Chorus

The "Bridal Chorus" "Treulich geführt", from the 1850 opera Lohengrin, by German composer Richard Wagner, is a march played for the bride's entrance at many formal weddings throughout the Western world. In English-speaking countries it is generally known as "Here Comes the Bride" or "Wedding March" (though actually "wedding march" refers to any piece in march tempo accompanying the entrance or exit of the bride, notably Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March").

Its usual placement at the beginning of a wedding ceremony is not entirely in accordance with its placement in the opera. In the opera, the chorus is sung after the ceremony by the women of the wedding party, as they accompany the heroine Elsa to the bridal chamber. In addition, the marriage between Elsa and Lohengrin is an almost immediate failure.

The "Bridal Chorus" is seldom played at Jewish weddings. This is often because of cultural objections, due to Wagner's well-documented and public reputation as an antisemite. It is also opposed by many pastors of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod because of pre-First World War Lutheran opposition to the theater and to the pagan elements of Wagner's operas. The Roman Catholic Church generally does not use the Bridal Chorus; one diocese's guidelines regarding the piece states that the chorus is a secular piece of music, that it is not a processional to the altar in the opera, and especially that its frequent use in film and television associate it with sentimentality rather than worship

First dance

Wikipedia article: First Dance

The first dance is an element in a number of traditions, being an opening of a certain dance function: ball, prom, etc.

In the context of balls, the term "first dance" has two meanings.

At various formal balls the first dance was led by the guest of honor, which was usually the person of the highest social position in a given context, such as a member of the royal family, if any were present. Their dance was the opening of the ball. As these were generally long country dances, the guests of honor would be the first people to go down the set, not the only two people dancing for the entirety of the first piece of music.

Handfasting

Wikipedia article: Handfasting

Handfasting is a traditional European ceremony of (temporary or permanent) betrothal or wedding.

The term is derived from the verb to handfast, used in Middle to Early Modern English for the making of a contract of marriage. The term is originally from Old Norse hand-festa "to strike a bargain by joining hands." Or a translation from German,"Hände fest halten" that is to hold hands firmly and fixedly.

Hesitation step

Wikipedia article: Hesitation step

The term hesitation step refers to a ceremonial form of walking. It is typically used during the entrance to a religious ceremony.

The walk consists of stepping forward, pausing, rocking back on the back leg, then proceeding to the next step forward. In other variations, there is simply a pause between steps with the feet poised together.

A form of the hesitation step is often used by brides and bridal parties in the United States and Europe during their entrance to the wedding ceremony. It is also often used during graduations, particularly from religious schools for girls.

Indian Wedding Blessing

Wikipedia article: Indian Wedding Blessing

The Indian Wedding Blessing, Apache Wedding Prayer, and other variants, is commonly recited at weddings in the United States. It is not associated with any particular religion and indeed does not mention a deity or include a petition, only a wish.

Jumping the broom

Wikipedia article: Jumping the broom

Jumping the broom is a phrase and custom relating to slave wedding ceremonies. In some African-American communities, marrying couples will end their ceremony by jumping over a broomstick, either together or separately. This practice dates back at least to the 19th century and has enjoyed a 20th century revival largely due to the television miniseries Roots.

Money dance

Wikipedia article: Money dance

The money dance, dollar dance, or apron dance is an event at some wedding receptions in various cultures. During a money dance, male guests pay to dance briefly with the bride, and sometimes female guests pay to dance with the groom. The custom originated in Poland in the early 1900s in immigrant neighborhoods.

Sometimes guests are told that the money will be used for the bride and groom's honeymoon or to give them a little extra cash with which to set up housekeeping.

Polterabend

Wikipedia article: Polterabend

Polterabend is the term for a German wedding custom in which on the night before the wedding the guests break porcelain to bring luck to the couple's marriage. The belief in the effectiveness is expressed by the old adage: "Shards bring luck" (German: Scherben bringen Glück). The expression is derived from a time when the word "shard" referred to the unbroken clay pots of pottery makers, and not just the broken pieces. It was said that a full jar was a lucky thing to have, therefore the expression "shards bring luck".

Pounded rice ritual

Wikipedia article: Pounded rice ritual

The pounded rice ritual normally occurs with an arranged marriage occurring in Southeast Asia. An arranged marriage is one where the bride and groom have little or no say in the relationship. The eldest male of the prospective families negotiate the union. The wedding ceremony normally occurs at the home of the bride’s family. The groom is carried on a chair along with his family to the bride’s home. He then takes part in an all-night ceremony of worship while the other guests feast and celebrate. The day following the ceremony, the newly married couple travels to the home of the groom. During this journey the bride is carried by chair. The entire wedding party stops along the journey for a rest and for a very important ritual surrounding pounded rice.

Pyebaek

Wikipedia article: Pyebaek

Pyebaek is a Korean wedding custom that is traditionally held a few days after the official ceremony, with only family members present. The ceremony begins with the older couple seated on cushions behind a table in front of a painted screen, with the newlyweds opposite them. The newlyweds perform a deep bow which begins standing and ends with the newlyweds pressing their foreheads to their hands while kneeling on the floor. The bride may present the groom's parents with jujubes and chestnuts, which symbolize children. A variation will have the newlyweds offering cups of wine, usually cheongju. The bride offers the cup to the father, and the groom offers the cup to the mother. Sometimes the parents will then also offer the newlyweds cups of cheongju or soju. The older couple then shares some wisdom on marriage from their advanced experience. Finally they will throw the jujubes and chestnuts back at the bride, who has to try catching them with her wedding skirt.

In the United States, this ritual is held a few days before the ceremony. The bride may also receive gifts of money in white envelopes

Walima

Wikipedia article: Walima

Walima (Arabic: the marriage banquet, is one of the two traditional parts of an Islamic wedding. The walima is performed after the nikah, or marriage ceremony. The word walima is derived from awlam, meaning to gather or assemble. It designates a feast in Arabic . Walima is used as a symbol to show domestic felicity in the household post-marriage. While walima is often used to describe a celebration of marriage, it is also held to celebrate the birth of a newborn and the purchase of a new home.

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