Prepared Speech - Wedding traditions

1. Teofana: Wedding is one of the most important, most sacred and

most celebrated occasions in countries across the world. Fundamental
to all wedding ceremonies are rituals and traditions. Our project is an
attempt to unravel the meaning behind the various wedding traditions
and customs observed in various parts of the world.

Indian Wedding

2. Nina: In the Hindu culture, marriages are highly interesting as they

owe all of their customs and rituals to their long lost pagan traditions.
Usually, in Hinduism the marriages are arranged by the parents.
When a boy or a girl becomes eligible for marriage, Hindu parents
look for a prospective match for their children from their own
community or caste. It is considered bad luck for the bride and groom
to see each other for several days before the wedding.

3. Hindu marriage ceremonies are very colourful and elaborate. A lot of

colourful rituals take place both in the bride and the groom's house
before and after the wedding.
4. Sari is the most popular bridal dress that is worn by most of the
Indian Hindu brides. Sari is several yards of light textile that is draped
around the body, covering at least one shoulder and sometimes

1
 veiling the head. The traditional wedding attire of Hindu brides
usually consists of saris in red, colour symbolizing fertility, wealth
and purity. Sari is adorned extravagantly with as much jewelry as
possible.

Chinese Wedding Traditions

5. Teofana:Traditional Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual that
involves a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families.
At present, romantic love is allowed in the Chinese culture.
6. The essential element for Chinese wedding attire and decorations is
the colour red. This colour means good luck in Chinese culture so
everything from the dress to the lanterns is red. The bride's wedding
dress is often red, as are the wedding invitations, wedding gift boxes
or envelopes for cash gifts. Even the bride and groom's homes are
decorated in red on the wedding day.

7. Chinese bridal gowns are traditionally adorned with elaborate

golden phoenixes, chrysanthemums and peonies, symbols of wealth and good
fortune. The groom traditionally wears a black silk coat over a robe
embroidered with a dragon.

8. A Chinese bride is like a cherry flower

2
Japanese wedding

9. Nina: In the land of the rising sun, wedding ceremonies are

traditionally Shinto, during which the natural spirits, the kami, are
called upon to bless the couple. Spring and autumn are the favorite
seasons for Japanese weddings, especially on certain days, which are
considered auspicious in the Japanese almanac.

10. The bride wears a white kimono and an elaborate headpiece covered
with many ornaments to invite good luck to the happy couple. A
white hood is attached to the kimono, which the bride wears like a
veil to show that she is obedient to her new husband. In Japan, purple
is the color of love and a young bride may choose to wear an
elaborately-embroidered silk kimono covered in purple iris-flowers.
Japanese grooms wear black kimonos for their wedding ceremony.
11. At a traditional Japanese wedding, the bride’s hair is also styled in the
traditional hair style and adorned with beautiful gold combs and
accessories. A young woman having a traditional Japanese wedding
is also painted pure white from head to toe, visibly declaring her
maiden status to the gods.

3
Tribal Wedding in Africa

12. Teofana: Africa is a large and most varied continent containing some
of the oldest civilizations on earth. It is home to a wide diversity of
religions and cultures, and this colourful diversity is reflected in its
diverse and colourful wedding traditions. An African wedding brings
together two people as a single family, or combines two families or
even two tribes into one family unit. Bright festive colours, song,
dance, and music are vital elements of many African wedding
ceremonies.

13. A traditional Nigerian bridal outfit consists of items made from

matching fabric in bright, cheerful colours including a headpiece
called a gele, a wrap skirt called an iro, a shawl called an iborum and
a blouse called a buba. In some rich African families they conduct
two weddings, one in the traditional style and one influenced by the
modern Western cultures.
14. The majority of the people in North Africa follow the Islamic
religion. As in other Muslim countries, a traditional Moroccan
wedding ceremony lasts from four to seven days. On her wedding
day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a
ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting
(called Beberiska) of her hands and feet. After that she is dressed in

4
 her wedding dress, and another woman arranges her hair, applies her
make-up and puts on her jewelry. The bride also wears an elaborate
headpiece with a veil.

15. Traditionally, Somali wedding festivities last for three entire nights.
On some of these nights, women and men do not mingle or celebrate
together; the men celebrate in one location while the women celebrate
in a different site. A Somali weddings includes a lot of music played
by rhythmical drums and a richness of colours. The people are happy,
cheering and clapping.

United States Wedding Traditions

16. Nina: Virtually, all U.S. wedding traditions and customs have been
taken directly from a wide range of other countries and cultures –
primarily European, because the United States were originally
populated by immigrants from many lands. These immigrants
brought their own wedding traditions with them, and these traditions
have slowly evolved into the traditional “American” wedding
ceremony. A Christian wedding in American society is about a man
and a woman starting a life together and is often done under God’s
will. Christian Weddings are usually conducted in a Church with
much joy and celebrations.

5
 16. Some fun wedding traditions from the past are still very much a part
of today's American wedding ceremony.

• A wedding on the June day of a full moon was considered to be the

most prosperous and long lasting union of all.
• The diamond engagement ring is a sign of love from the groom
and a required statement of nuptial intent
• Seeing an open grave, pig, or lizard on the way to the ceremony,
on the morning of the wedding, are all thought to be omens of bad
luck.
Seeing a lamb, frog, spider, black cat, or rainbows on the way to
the ceremony is believed to be a sign of good luck!
• Prior to the wedding itself, it is traditional for the Maid of Honor to
throw a bridal shower as part of the bridal ceremonies. During the
bridal shower the bride-to-be will receive small gifts, often of a
humorous nature.

17. Traditionally, a Christian bride wears a white gown in western style

and the groom wears a suit. Many believe that the white of the
wedding dress signifies the purity of the bride. The bride's head is
covered with a white veil and a crown - a tiara or a bunch of white
flowers, and she holds a flower bouquet in her hand. It is an old belief
that the veil, by hiding the face, particularly the eyes, confused the
evil spirits.

6
18. Teofana: We’ll present now some weird things from wedding ceremonies all
over the world.
19. Nina: The longest dresses from the whole world were used by two Chinese
brides.

20. Teofana: On the eve of her wedding vows, following a traditional ceremonial
cleansing, the Indian bride’s hands and feet are painted with henna in
elaborate patterns by female family members. This decoration is called
mehendi.

21. Nina: In Nigeria, in west Africa, a husband never uses his wife’s name. Only
relatives and the women's own children are allowed to use the name her father
gave her and it is only unmarried girls who may be called by name.

22. Teofana: In several tribal communities of Somalia, a man is allowed to have

as many as four wives if he can support them all. Besides, it is not uncommon
for a girl to be engaged before she is even born.
- The oldest recorded bride was Minnie Munro, who got hitched at a sprightly
102 years of age.
23. Nina: Long before the 1970's, Japanese brides had been wearing Geta
sandals or platform shoes in order to preserve the bridal white kimono from
the dust.
24. Teofana: In the end, we can say that wedding ceremonies are full of
traditions, both religious and local. A lot of customs and superstitions

7
 surround weddings and have survived countless of generations up to
the modern day.
Nicoleta: Hoping that you enjoyed sharing with us some things about
wedding traditions, we’ll let you in the company of some proverbs about
married life. Thank you for listening to us!