A wedding is not just a holiday for family and friends, accompanied by abundant food, alcoholic libations and lively dances. For many peoples of the world, the day of creating a family is one of the most responsible in a person's life, therefore, it should be held with respect for long-term and sometimes centuries-old customs and traditions. And if in our country young people are greeted with bread and salt, towels and icons, blessed for a happy marriage and a wedding is held up to 7 days, then among other peoples the traditions of the holiday can shock. This is broken dishes, and food from a toilet pot, and beating a young man, and spitting on the bride. Such unique traditions are normally accepted in countries and even promise young people happiness, wealth, and a good life.
Consider 10 peculiar wedding ceremonies that at least surprise our person, and sometimes horror.
Kenya - spitting
We start our review with the state of the African continent, which is famous for a very unusual and repulsive wedding tradition. Among the people of Kenya, when a husband and wife leave their ancestral home, daddy spits heartily on his daughter's chest and head. Thus, he gives her his father's blessing for a happy family life. In our country, such behavior would be considered a real insult - it would be a pretext not to communicate with relatives for years. And for the Masai tribe, spitting is a symbol of prosperity and good luck.
Greece - krevati
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Moving on to a calmer and more interesting tradition. In Greece, a couple of days before the wedding, relatives and friends get together and prepare a family nest for future spouses. Experienced married women run the marriage bed and give the groom the opportunity to appreciate the quality of the work done. After making the bed with matrimonial sheets, money is put on top, which will ensure prosperity and success for the couple. Also, grains of rice are thrown on the bed, which symbolize "putting down roots" and bless the young for the early procreation. At the end, a child is rolled along the bed - a boy or a girl, depending on the gender of the firstborn desired by the couple. After the marriage, the spouses have the right to reunite on the pre-made bed.
Scotland - throwing mud
And again in the review there is a resonating tradition - in Scotland, it is customary to kidnap the venerable bride, and then pollute it in all possible ways. On the eve of the holiday, people "for good luck" throw sour milk, fish corpses, tar, rancid food, feathers, eggs, garbage and even animal excrement at it, pour unpleasant liquids at it. In addition, the girl will be executed - she is tied to a tree, and her friends arrange a series of tests. This is followed by a light-hearted night of fun, like our bachelorette party. There is a belief in the country that the more severe trials the future wife will endure, the more resistant the married life will be to troubles. It is also a way to prove to the groom's family that the girl is ready for the hardships of family life.
Germany - broken dishes
The smashing of dishes is just an easy prank compared to previous traditions. Guests at a classic German wedding bring porcelain as a gift and then ceremoniously break it in the midst of the celebration. It is generally accepted that such an act will help drive away evil spirits from the young, make their marriage more reliable and stronger. Still not to temper, because it is the young who will have to remove all the broken dishes, working side by side for the benefit of future prosperity. Also polterabend (name of tradition) is sometimes held during a party on the eve of a big day. By breaking the dishes, guests wish the young people good luck and resilience in the face of the difficulties of life together.
France - food in a chamber pot
And again, let's add some "peppercorns" to our review. A long-standing French tradition invites newlyweds to dine from a chamber pot on their wedding day (by modern standards, from a toilet bowl). At the end of the wedding ceremony and the celebration, the guests collect the remains of the feast, mix and send it to the toilet, forcing the unfortunate new spouses to absorb this content. And if in ancient times it was necessary to drink ordinary, not entirely clean water from improvised dishes, now they regret the bride and groom, offering to eat chocolate or drink sparkling wine. But it's still unpleasant to eat the brown substance from the urinal, you must agree. It is believed that with this specific method the young gain strength for the upcoming wedding night.
Romania - dancing chefs
To cheer up the reader, we suggest a more pleasant ceremony. In Romania, after a wedding in the city hall or a wedding, the newly-made spouses are taken to a restaurant, where a "chicken dance" awaits them. The newlyweds receive all the guests and begin to waltz, after which the restaurant's chefs perform their signature dance. Fried and beautifully decorated chicken comes in as a must-have for the room. The groom's witness must agree with the cooks on the price of the festive chicken and buy it back.
Korea - beating the groom's feet
The next tradition again, unfortunately, involves violence. This time, the groom has to endure torment - in Korea, at the end of a responsible day, his legs are beaten with a cane or a large rotten fish carcass. In this peculiar method, the firmness of the character of the newly-made husband, his ability to show willpower and spirit, the ability not to disappoint his wife on the family bed is tested. At the same time, the Korean groom should not wash his feet on the eve of the execution. The procedure usually lasts 10-20 minutes. It is interesting, because with unwashed legs, smelling of the "aroma" of rotten fish, the spouse goes straight to the marriage bed.
Ireland - first dance
In amazing Ireland, people still fear evil sorceresses. During the first dance of the newly-made spouses, the bride's shoes should not linger in the air for a second. The girl literally shuffles her shoes on the floor, worried that she might be kidnapped by the evil fairies who are present at the ceremony.
Macedonia - a needlewoman on horseback
And here is a sensible tradition that tests the suitability of the future wife for life in marriage. The bride sews herself a wedding dress on her own, as well as prepares and studies the scenario of the wedding day, and additionally learns the skill of horse riding. She needs the latter in order, like a real "knight", to conquer her future husband. She rides up on a horse to the groom's house and must jump to the ground through the fence so as not to hit the stirrups or bridles.
India - lifting the curse
The wedding ceremony in India is full of rituals and traditions, so much so that it can be devoted to a separate article. But today we are considering a strange belief. People believe that if a girl was born on the day of the rapprochement of Saturn and Mars (astrological combination "manglik"), then she is cursed from birth and promises her future husband an early death. But the cunning sages came up with a way out - first, the girl is married off to a banana tree and cut down, doing the intended. Thus, the girl is cleared of the curse and can marry the chosen one.
Such funny, and sometimes cruel and disgusting rituals are accepted in some peoples of the planet. Therefore, we will not complain when the toastmaster invites the groom to wash his mother-in-law's feet with vodka - this is the smallest test possible!