Old and new wedding traditions and rites

A wedding is an important celebration in the life of every person. In addition to creating a new family, each of the couples changes their life, status, goals and priorities. Everyone wants the marriage to be strong, and the relationship of the newlyweds developed perfectly. Therefore, our people are trying so hard to honor wedding traditions and ceremonies in order to ensure a smooth family life by all possible means.

Now in our country there is no division into native, Slavic, and western wedding traditions. The modern wedding has so skillfully crossed everything that sometimes it’s not even possible to figure out where some action came to us from. So, for example, the ransom of the bride is a tradition of many peoples of the world, including ours. It is believed that the groom must pay a solid jackpot for the bride, then parents can safely give the daughter in marriage. Today, everything happens a little differently, in a certain game, when the groom, without completing one or another task related to the bride, must pay compensation.

Boutonniere

Modern wedding traditions and ceremonies suggest that the groom has a small bouquet of flowers - a boutonniere, which binds the bride to her betrothed. It’s only today that this tradition has been slightly changed, ideally, the girls simply wove wreaths for their grooms in love and devotion.

This custom is also somewhat transformed, but there have always been flowers in it. Only earlier, brides threw their wreath at a crowd of unmarried girls, which adorned their heads during a wedding ceremony. It was believed that the lucky woman who caught the bride’s wreath should soon get married.

Tableware

At all times, there were also very interesting wedding traditions and ceremonies. Such, for example, is the breaking of dishes. Today, as they say, she beats happily: the more small fragments, the more happiness the young will have. But earlier this tradition had a slightly different purpose. So they checked the chastity of the bride. If the dishes, most often earthenware, broke, then the girl was blameless, if she remained intact, the bride had a hard time, and it was not easy for the superstitious inhabitants to prove the truth.

"Bitterly"

Today at weddings they shout: "Bitter!" So that the young kiss. But before, such a word had a slightly different meaning. So, in the old days, everyone who gave a gift was surely poured a glass of vodka. And the man, having drunk the contents of the cup, had to say: “Bitter!” In order to certify those present that it was vodka that was drunk, and not water. These interesting Russian wedding traditions have remained with us to this day.

Wedding ceremonies and traditions of Russia suggest the presence of witnesses at each celebration. They must put their signatures in the registry office and assure others of the authenticity of the marriage of the couple. But earlier witnesses carried a slightly different purpose. Even in ancient times they were needed in order to deceive the unclean forces and protect the young couple from misfortunes. Somewhat later, in the difficult Middle Ages, witnesses also protected the young, but this time from a real threat from the Likhodeys.

Scythe

Modern wedding traditions and ceremonies involve removing the veil from the bride and tying a scarf in a sign that the lady is already married. Previously, the custom was somewhat different. They removed the wreath for the girl and necessarily unwrapped the braid. This was the last time since it was believed that a married woman should not walk straight-haired. Then the girls did the hairstyle to the bride, and she forever said goodbye to her hair loose over her shoulders.