Couples celebrate their love in various ways, and most of the time, they enter the world of holy matrimony through age-old traditions. Weddings are always a special occasion no matter where you are in the world. Even though traditions vary around the world, the common thread is the desire to spread love and happiness.
While some customs may confuse you, others may astound you, and some may even appear offensive. What happens on wedding days around the world will astound you. Fortunately, these customs are intended to bring the couple good fortune and prosperity.
Feet-Beating of the Groom
Grooms in South Korea must go through a ritual before they can leave with their new wife. The practice of beating the groom’s feet by his groomsmen or family members is known as ‘Falaka.’ They will take off his shoes and bind his ankles with rope before beating his feet with a stick or, in some cases, a dried fish.
Even though the ritual is obviously painful, it is meant to be more amusing than punishing. The tradition tests the groom’s attention and memory as he is asked questions between the beatings. They also believe that the groom will become stronger for his wedding night by doing this exercise.
Maasai Wedding Spitting
Brides from Kenya’s Maasai ethnic group prepare for their wedding by shaving their heads and applying lamb fat and oil to their scalps. During the wedding, it is customary for the bride’s father to wish his daughter and son-in-law luck by spitting on her head and breasts before she departs with her new husband.
Though this may appear strange and disrespectful to some cultures, it makes sense in Maasai culture, where spitting symbolises good luck and fortune.
The Maasai bride will then depart with her husband, taking care not to look back for fear of turning into stone! As she walks away, members of the groom’s family will insult her to ward off bad luck and evil spirits.
Spitting is also important in other aspects of Maasai cultures, such as when they spit on their hands before shaking hands with elders to show respect. It is also customary to spit on newborn Maasai babies to ward off bad luck.
Baumstamm and Polterabend Germany’s Sägen
Polterabend is a German wedding custom in which guests gather at the bride’s house on the eve of the wedding and break porcelain to bring luck to the couple’s marriage. The old adage “Shards bring luck” expresses belief in the efficacy of this custom.
The couple is then required to clean up the debris to demonstrate that they can overcome any challenge they face in marriage by working together.
Baumstamm sägen is a similar tradition in which newlyweds saw a log in half in front of their guests to symbolize the importance of cooperation in their marriage.
The Bathroom Ban in Borneo
Members of Malaysian and Indonesian Tidong people in Borneo follow a tradition in which the bride and groom are not allowed to leave their home or use the bathroom for three days after their wedding ceremony, and they are only allowed a small amount of food and drink.
In Tidong culture, failing to follow the ritual will bring the bride and groom bad luck. It also frequently leads to infidelity, marriage dissolution, or their children’s death. The Tidong community forbids the couple from using the restroom for three days after their marriage; tribe members believe that breaking this rule will bring the couple bad luck, such as a broken marriage, infidelity, or the death of their children at a young age.
China’s Crying Ritual
Weddings are often considered an emotional event, but in some parts of China, particularly in Tujia, crying is a required part of the marriage preparation process. Tujia brides will cry for one hour each day for a month before their wedding. Ten days into the ritual, the bride is joined by her mother, and ten days after that, the bride’s grandmother joins the weeping duo, and eventually, other female family members will join in the crying.
Otherwise, the bride’s neighbours would regard her as a poorly educated girl, and she would become the village’s laughingstock.
The ritual, known as Zuo Tang in Western Sichuan province, is said to have originated during China’s Warring States period when the mother of a Zhao princess wept at her daughter’s wedding.
Sweden’s kissing tradition
If the groom leaves the room during the wedding reception of newlywed Swedish couples, the other men in the room are allowed to kiss the bride, and if the bride leaves the party, female guests are allowed to kiss the groom.
Nowadays, the bride and groom may ring a bell as well. If it’s the groom, he’ll be announcing that it’s time for all the men in the party to stand up and rush over to kiss the bride on the cheek; if it’s the bride, all the women in the party will stand up and rush over to kiss the groom, which usually causes quite a commotion.
A tradition of marrying the dead In India
The marriage of the dead, or Pretha Kalyanam, is a tradition that dates back to the Dakshina Kannada region of Karnataka and is still practised in several communities throughout Kerala and Karnataka. In this tradition, those who died as children, who are usually under the age of 18 and single, marry children who died tragically a few years later.
According to a Dakshina Kannada social media user, many people believe their loved ones’ spirits wander and never achieve ‘Moksha’ (the freedom from the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth). As a result, it is believed that since one’s life is complete without marriage and the family, the wandering soul may begin to cause problems. The wedding starts with an engagement ceremony full of jokes and laughter.