World over wedding traditions vary from place to place. It is not only about cities and states; even villages have different and bizarre and ridiculous wedding customs. There a few which a lot of you know about and some, most of you have no idea about. Wedding traditions have been followed around the world for decades. It is a ceremony where two bind together as one in holy matrimony. A couple gets engaged and is able to start a family. How the ceremony goes about is what differs, read on to know most of the wedding rituals which might appear as weird to you as to anyone else.
Fattening the bride
Place: Africa
Tradition: Fattening the bride is a wedding tradition which most know happens mainly in African countries. It is considered that the fatter the bride the better for the husband to be. Is it a fact or myth, is up to us to decide. This custom is known as Leblouh. The girl is sent off to either a fattening room or a fattening farm. Some could be sent at the age of five to start eating and hogging on food in order to get fat. Some are sent of couple of days before the wedding to get as fat as they can in order to be loved and married to by future mates.
Nibbling on Biscuits:
Place: Greece
Tradition: In Greece nibbling on biscuits from a boy’s neck is the tradition. As the tradition goes, a young boy is selected by the bride. A biscuit is placed around his neck and the bride then has to gnaw at the biscuit. Weird but it’s true, and that is not the only thing. After the chewing course is over the boy is set free and the bride is taken home. There the house is covered in some sticky substance like honey and the bride has to throw pomegranate seeds and if they stick she is known to give birth to multiple sons in the future.
Blackening the bride:
Place: Scotland
Tradition: The Scottish have always been known to be peculiar. Starting from the men and their big built plus the sports they play and their famous kilts and bagpipes. Now, not to mention their wedding tradition is even more bizarre. It is a ritual in which the bride, who needs to be the most stunning person in the crowd is actually suppose to be dirty in a Scottish wedding. It seems that the men have a fetish for publicly embarrassed brides. The service has anything from molasses, animal excreta, stinking eggs and flour poured over her. Is that ghastly or what.
Wooden duck carving:
Place: Korea
Tradition: The wooden duck carving is a tradition in Korea. You would wonder what the bride and groom have to do with wooden carved dicks. The deal is that the ducks are placed by the bride and groom in their new home without each other knowing where and how the others duck is placed. The idea behind this is that, if the ducks when brought together are nose to nose that means the couple would have a happy married life, if they are tail to tail then they would have a number of fights. These ducks can be given by the guests instead of money.
Banned from going to the bathroom:
Place: Malaysia
Tradition: Just imagine not being able to go the bathroom that to on your wedding day. If you thought the wedding in Scotland was out of the ordinary wait till hear about Malaysia’s wedding tradition. This ceremony states that the bride and the groom cannot go to the bathroom for at least 72 hours before the nuptials ceremony. The couple is starved of food, but given little quantities of water. It is a custom taken seriously. The couple is kept an eye upon, in order to see that they do not deceive the practice. If the couple gets over this agony, it is know that they would have a great number of children and none of them will succumb to death.
Kidnapping the bride:
Place: Roma communities
Tradition: It is a great deal in the Roma communities to be kidnapping girls in regards to making them your wife. It is a tradition with a bit of a criminal touch to it. The thought is to kidnap a girl and have her stay with you for 2-3 days so she automatically becomes your wife. The Romani’s do not believe in the romantic stuff. This belief has been going on left right and center since centuries.
Brides cannot take their feet of the floor:
Place: Ireland
Tradition: An Irish wedding ritual states that the bride cannot take her feet off the floor, or else it would bring bad luck on the day of her marriage. The reason being so uncanny, that wicked fairies are observing stunning brides and would capture them if their feet are off the ground. It appears that the bride is not even allowed to lift her feet; it is to be dragged while dancing. Another point is that green is an unlucky color for the Irish.
Sawing post marriage:
Place: Germany
Tradition: According to German traditions the bride and groom wear their wedding bands on the right hand. The culture is all about finding a log and the having to saw it together. This custom helps them realize their importance in each others life and in a way tells them how to be working together through anything hassle that comes their way. They have to saw all the way.
Stomp the glass:
Place: Jerusalem
Tradition: Jewish weddings go about stomping glass. The groom has to break a glass wrapped in a napkin or in cloth by stepping on it. It signifies that the couple would not have anything more break in their lives. In terms of relationship, they will not allow their bond to be broken easily. The breaking of the glass takes place only after the rings are exchanged. It also signifies that it is the last time the groom puts his foot down, after this the woman wears the pants in the family.
Not marrying a human:
Place: India
Tradition: The craziest thing imagined, is getting married to an animal. Don’t believe it? Wedding rituals in India prove this has happened. You would consider it fascinating or freaky. Surprisingly marital ceremony’s are more unexplainable here than anywhere else. It is assumed that the one getting wedded is married off to an animal; which is because the being is possessed by a ghost. The ones considered ugly are mainly engaged to animals. It is said the one who is unattractive or deformed in anyway has been taken over by a ghost, and the wedding to the dog is a form of exorcism. The animal is either a dog or a goat. The human is not expected to have a sexual relationship with the animal. After the ceremony they can get married to the being of their choice.
Jumping over the broom:
Place: West Africa
Tradition: Jumping the broom is a tradition followed in African-American countries. It has very Celtic roots and it is for a couple who want to respect the practice. The couple could choose when to jump the broom. They could either do it at the wedding or the reception. This ritual is to indicate that they are entering their new lives. This ritual is being practiced in most parts of West Africa still. It is to show that are going away from their single. You are supposed to jump forward. The husband jumps first and then the brides hand is held and made to jump forward.
Couple drinks wine with honey from a goblet tied together with red string:
Place: China
Tradition: Wondering where this takes place, well China has its share of oddness too. The color red is an implication of love and joy. So the couple is tied together to a red string or a scarf and they drink wine and honey from a goblet. This ritual has been known to happen for a long time. It takes place during the wedding. Imagine the weird combination of wine and honey.
Trees sold to collect dowry for the bride:
Place: Germany
Tradition: In Germany another ritual which takes place is that of trees getting sold in order to pay for dowry. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? The deal is that several trees are planted when a girl child is born, and the day she gets married those trees are sold and the cash is used as dowry. It is a pre-wedding custom. You get the bride married of and give that sum of money to the
Nine sips of sake
Place: Japan
Tradition: Sake is common in Japan and everyone in this country loves their sake. The best part about the wedding is that you can to take nine sips of sake and your married after the first sip. The bride and groom take three sips each. It should be termed as the world’s shortest wedding tradition. Red again is japans color for satisfaction and happiness and it is highly important to have this color around at the wedding.
Signing the sole of the bride’s shoe:
Place: Morocco
Tradition: This is actually a very warm hearted tradition; there is nothing peculiar about it. It is a part of the ceremony where the bridesmaids sign the sole of the bride’s shoe. The tradition goes that the name which is the least visible at the end of the evening is on next in line to get married. This wedding tradition takes place in Morocco. It is normally the bridal flowers which are thrown and then caught by the bridesmaids which tells you who is getting married next. But then to each is their own.
Painted hands:
Place: Morocco
Tradition: Morocco as beautiful as the place is and the culture their weddings are as gorgeous. They have a scenario where the women get their hands and feet painted in henna. This is similar in India too, it is known as mehendi. The bride has to first bathe in milk and then get the designs made with henna in her hands and feet. The designs are worth looking at. They are intricate and beautiful. The darker the color comes out after removing the dried up henna the better for the couple. It signifies the strength of love between them.
Baby bridesmaids:
Place: England
Tradition: As most of you must have seen the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William you must have noticed that it had young children as the bridesmaids. Did you ever wonder why? It is customary and out of sheer graciousness that women who attend the wedding and stand besides the bride do not draw attention from the bride. This is the reason the royal’s have children as the bridesmaids. It is specifically visible here that it is all about the bride.It happens in most British upper class families too.
The Peruvian cake pull:
Place: Peru
Tradition: A wedding belief long known to be famous in Peru. It is a fun tradition where one of the unmarried young girls at the wedding places a ring identical to that of the wedding band in between the seven layers of the cake which is tied to one ribbon. There are a number of other ribbons placed in the wedding cake. The girls pull the ribbons as soon as the couple cuts the cake and the one which gets the ribbon with the ring is the one next in line to get married.
Slaughtering a cow:
Place: Egypt
Tradition: It sounds pretty inhuman to do such a thing, but then slaughtering a cow along with gunshot fired in the air is a wedding ritual in Egypt amongst the Muslims. It is also common South Africa and among Nubian ceremonies. It is considered lucky to be able to get married on the day this happens in Egypt. Supposedly the death of something gives life to another. The parents of the groom are expected to slaughter the animal and the men of the family fire the gunshots. It is a sacrifice given in exchange for happiness to the married couple.
Ransom for the shoes:
Place: India
Tradition: The folklore of taking a ransom for the shoes is a fun ritual which is followed by the sister-in-laws of the groom. They hide the shoes in order to tease their sister’s husband to be. It is playful act, where the groom then asks for the shoes and the sister-in-laws ask for money. It is to prove that they to have a right over the husband-to-be. The groom is supposed to take of his shoes before getting on stage and that is when the shoes are taken away.
Burning the crown:
Place: Switzerland
Tradition: In Swiss countries a famous part of getting married was surprisingly burning the crown. Yes it sounds the way you read it. It is a fact that a girl getting married in Switzerland wear a customary crown which is more like wreath denotes her maidenhood. After the entire ceremony is over and the exchanging of the wedding vows is finished the wreath is burnt. The bride is considered lucky if the wreath burns as fast as expected. This is one of the orthodox Christian traditions which have been followed for centuries. If she is unlucky, she would be burnt at stake.
Embroidered Handkerchief:
Place: Belgium
Tradition: It’s surprising to know about the things which are passed from generation to generation as a family heirloom. Wedding rings are definitely one of those but have you ever heard of handkerchiefs given as an heirloom? Well, this is one of the wedding customs in Belgium in which the bride carries an embroidered hanky that has her name on it. After the marriage, the handkerchief is framed and then nicely hung on the wall. And when it’s time for the next female to walk down the aisle in the bride’s family, then the hanky is removed from the frame and the new one is placed.
Tying shoes to the cars of newlyweds:
Place: England
Tradition: In the olden days, especially during the Tudor’s period, there was a popular custom in England that was practiced in every wedding ceremony. The guest at the wedding used to throw shoes at the newlyweds as they were leaving the church. This was done as a good luck sign. In the present time, this custom has changed and now the guests tie shoes to the honeymoon vehicle.
Best man steals the bride:
Place: Germany
Tradition: It’s in the tradition that during the reception of the couple, the best man has to steal the bride and take her to a pub for drinks. Then the best man along with the bride spends some quality time together and raises a toast for the marriage. It’s now the responsibility of the groom to search for the bride and once he gets the best man and his bride, the groom has to pay the bill for the merry making they did together. At the end friends of the couple block all the reception site exits with ribbons and garlands.
