Wedding Traditions in the East

If you think the typical white-dress, big party kind of wedding is the standard around the world, you are in for a surprise. Wedding traditions vary enormously around the world, and what we consider standard can be unusual not too far away. Here are some examples of unusual wedding traditions around the world.

Chinese wedding traditions date back thousands of years. While other parts of Asia have seen Western influence, China has remained more traditional and still follows some strict wedding traditions and etiquette. The marriage proposal itself is a big affair, it is often conducted in writing. There is also an old tradition of setting the marriage bed the day before the wedding ceremony. The bed is placed in a particular augural position by a chosen men and women; preferably people who already have children, as this would be a good omen for the new couple. In China, every new couple needs to go to a park to have a video made before the evening party starts. If a new couple meets in a park, the bride and bridegroom should exchange a new handkerchief and wish each other good luck. It has to be red and have a picture of mandarin ducks. Because ducks always stay together, it means they will stay together. They share happiness and congratulate each other. Traditionally, the more happiness you share, the more good luck you get. So, don’t forget to prepare these handkerchiefs by hand when you are going to get married.

Wedding traditions in India are even more closely followed. The formal engagement of a couple is finalized by the parents, who then take an important part on the actual wedding ceremony too. Groom and bride exchange wedding bands as a sign of commitment long before the actual wedding takes place. Other wedding traditions include the painting of hands and feet with henna and a special religious ceremony held the night before the actual wedding, in which a small stalk is planted in the garden as a celebration of the new life for the couple. The bride traditionally wears red (white signifies death in our culture) and the groom wears a traditional cream coloured long coat called an etchkin with a red turban. The father of the bride joins the bride to the groom by handing her one end of a cloth that is held by the groom. The groom leads the bride 4 times around our holy book with the help of the bride’s brothers and cousins. After the fourth round the couple are considered married. Priests give blessings and advise the couple on how to live and love in their new lives together. The couple is two bodies with one soul…

A Japan wedding has a typical ceremony. A couple drinks Japanese rice wine in front of a priest. First, the bride drinks the wine from a small cup. Next, the bride passes the cup to the groom and he also drinks the wine from the cup. They try to drink wine three times. This ceremony means that they promise to be dedicated each other.

Many young people get married western style in Korea. That is, women wear a short dress, and men wear a new western suit. The bride throws her wedding bouquet back over her shoulder, and the girl who catches it is one who is going to get married next. After the wedding ceremony is finished, the bride and bridegroom change into Korean traditional clothes and bow to their parents and elder relatives. Then, the parents and older relatives give them many nuts, Jujube, and some money. Nuts and Jujube mean they will have children, and they wish the bride and bridegroom a happy marriage.

Task 8. Listen to some facts about giving presents for weddings and complete the table.

Country	The gift	Who gives it?	Who receives it?
Mexico
China
Sudan
Vietnam
Poland
South Africa

Task 9. Fill in the gaps with suitable words given below.

Words: bride; bouquet; days; veil; tailcoat; vow; best man; bridesmaids; ring; confetti; bride-groom; reception