Let's continue to consider modern wedding traditions and rituals of Ukraine.
This is the second part of the article. The beginning of the article about modern wedding traditions in Ukraine...
Next comes the bride's dress. Putting on a wedding dress is not an easy process - modern corset designs are usually equipped with either a lace that needs to be tightened correctly, or countless miniature buttons and it is impossible to miss even one, and if this happens, then you have to start all over again.
Putting on a veil with a wreath, a sprig or a tiara in different regions of Ukraine occurs differently, more often this privilege is given to a hairdresser, but sometimes a girlfriend or one of the relatives does it, and the bride is seated on a pillow. An innovation has been added to the modern wedding ceremony of dressing, inspired by an old English sign: the bride must have something old, new, borrowed and, moreover, blue.
In wedding traditions, each thing has its own symbolic meaning. Something old symbolizes the connection with the bride's family, wisdom and peace in marriage (often these are some family jewels). Something new symbolizes happiness, luck and well-being of the bride's new life.
Something borrowed reminds the bride that her loved ones will always be there, ready to help and support if needed (this thing can be taken from a married woman, happily married with a blessing for a good family life), something blue symbolizes love, modesty and fidelity (usually this is a wedding garter). Well, everything is ready with the bride's dressing and all that remains is to meet the groom.
To the sounds of music or the roar of horns, the groom's wedding procession enters the bride's yard. All the neighbors stick out of the windows to contemplate this unique action. As before, according to tradition, first the groom must bargain for a wife for himself, and only then take her down the aisle.
According to wedding tradition, the bride's relatives, the groom's relatives and the best man conduct the bidding. Nowadays, the grooms are being inventive and prepare for the ransom, some prepare a "bag" of coins (usually small ones), some make their own currency, inserting their own face into dollars and euros (fortunately, the capabilities of today's technology are great), some give "packs" of money in small bills for the bride.
All this is accompanied by loud fun, jokes and gags. Having received the ransom, the relatives take the bride to the groom, the parents bless them with icons for a long and happy life, that is, all according to ancient traditions. Then the hands of the newlyweds are tied with a towel or a scarf over bread and taken out into the yard, where they are sprinkled with grain, candy and coins, all this is very symbolic and implies wealth, well-being, a sweet life and fertility of the family life of the newlyweds.
A traditional part of the bride-giving ceremony is the "appointment" and tying of the elders with towels. They are entrusted with the honorable mission of cutting the loaf and the duty of monitoring the filling and emptying of alcohol at the festive table. Then the bride and groom go to the registry office on a wedding train, all under the same roar of car horns. Although, they can also go on a yacht in order to perform the act of marriage there, but that is another article.
Of the traditional wedding traditions in the registry office, there is only the exchange of rings, a snow-white towel and loaves on luxurious embroidered towels in the hands of the elders. Each of them is associated with its own beliefs and signs. The towel and the loaf are used to judge who will lead the family.
Whoever is the first to touch the towel in the wedding hall will get the "reins" in his hands. The newlyweds are greeted from the registry office with a loaf. Here, for a leadership position in the family, you need to compete not with the agility of jumping on a towel, but with the ability to grab a bigger piece of the loaf without hands. Whoever bites off more has a bigger mouth, which means he has the right to command. Wedding rings symbolize complete unity and a vow of fidelity to each other.
In Ancient Egypt, newlyweds exchanged rings, concluding an alliance until death. The Egyptians firmly believed that if you put a ring on the middle finger of the left hand, you can keep love in each other's hearts for life. There is a wedding tradition of carrying the bride out of the registry office in your arms and bringing her into the house in your arms. It also has its roots in ancient paganism. It was believed that the bride is a tasty morsel for dark forces and easy prey for the evil eye and damage, in order to deceive insidious creatures, the bride was carried in your arms - no traces, so there is no bride here!
To book a wedding photo shoot, please contact me:
+49 159 04837874 - phone, WhatsApp
morefoto@gmail.com
Sincerely, Eduard Stelmakh.
stelmakh.com