Most people are familiar with wedding traditions such as the first dance and tossing the bouquet. However, there are different wedding traditions around the world. Here are some wedding traditions from around the world:
Bride Blackening: Scotland
In Scotland, the tradition is that the friends of the bride and groom smear them in every dirty thing they can find. Be it rotten eggs, sausages, flour, or curdled milk, if people can get their hands on it, it will end up on the bride and groom. For instance, can you imagine ruining your wedding gown from the Azazie presents?
After this part of the ceremony is over, the well-wishers make a ton of noise as they parade the couple. This tradition can be done to either the bride or groom depending on the region of Scotland.
Bathroom Moratorium: Indonesia
As soon as the wedding ceremony ends, the bride and groom stay in the house and are not permitted to use the restroom for three days. People watch over the newlywed couple and provide them with miniscule amounts of drinks and water.
The locals believe that failing to conduct this custom could bring bad luck to the newlyweds, including death of children, an unhappy marriage, or infidelity. When three days pass by, the couple can resume their lives and start their marriage.
Spitting on the Bride: Maasai Tribe, Kenya
At traditional Maasai weddings, the bride’s father blesses her union by spitting on her breasts and head. Once this happens, the bride leaves the wedding venue without glancing behind her for fear of turning into stone. With such traditions, most people are glad that they do not come from these parts of the world.
Beating Groom’s Feet: South Korea
Before the groom can depart with his better half following the wedding ceremony, he must sit through a beating of his feet. This beating can be painful but it ends quickly and is not meant to be harsh but funny. When the wedding concludes, the friends of the groom take off his socks and shoes then tie his feet at the ankles.
They then beat the soles of his feet with a dried fish, cane, or stick. During the beating, the groom is quizzed to test his knowledge.
Polterabend: Germany
The guests arrive at the bride’s home on the eve of the wedding and break as many porcelain objects as they can. They do this to bring good luck to the couple. However, they are not supposed to break glass, as it is a symbol of happiness.
Once the porcelain is broken, the couple should clean it up. This teaches them that marriage is not easy but they can overcome almost any challenge if they work together. Nowadays, the porcelain is broken on the wedding day instead of the day before.
La Soupe: France
At the end of the ceremony, the couple went to bed and left the bridesmaids to clean up everything. The trash, which included leftover drink and food, would be put inside a pot chamber. People would then put the garbage inside a toilet and barge into the newlywed’s room to make the couple drink it.
Nowadays, champagne and chocolate has replaced the trash but it is still put inside a toilet. The reason for this tradition is to give the couple fuel for sex.
Kissing Tradition: Sweden
If the groom exits the room, the other men can kiss his bride. This tradition also applies to the female guests and the groom if the bride leaves the room.
Conclusion
As you can see, people all over the world practice different wedding traditions depending on where they reside.