Analysis of Traditions and Rituals From Around the World
There are traditions and or rituals that we participate in year after year, even though we have forgotten what the meaning is or where it has come from. Every one of us has experienced some type of ritual or tradition in some form or fashion. Wedding and marriage rituals and traditions also fall true to this. There are different cultures that celebrate in different ways all over the world. There is a tradition for Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and South America, North America and even Caribbean traditions and Oceania traditions. I suppose there is a tradition or ritual for every corner of our world and for every tribe. I have even seen weddings for animals. Everyone seems to be getting into a ceremony! Within all of these different ceremonies, traditions and rituals have changed over the years. To go back hundreds of years ago, some couples did not even know each other when they were to be married, or paired up by the tribes or royal parents to choose the couple that would best suite the family. Just imagine not even meeting the one that you are supposed to marry and spend the rest of your life with until the day of the ceremony. These traditions were kept sacred and carried out just because that is the way that it has always been done. Most wedding ceremonies would consist of the same rituals and traditions that would be carried on down from generations. Most people doesn’t even know what most of the traditions mean. Unfortunately with time, and more modern ways, these rituals are being changed.
To look back to our great-great grandparents days, I have to wonder if they would be searching as hard as people do these days to find that “soul mate” that is promise...
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...owing of rice at the couple would represent good luck to the couple and that they would have a full pantry and good fortune. Throwing rice has become obsolete now due to harm to the animals and has been replaced by rose petals, bird seed and bubbles. Another tradition at the end of the ceremony that is interesting to know and I do not see any longer is the “making of noise”. This was thought to believe if loud noises were made by the guest, when the couple left, it would keep spirits away. How can this tradition be done with so many getting married at those “Destination Weddings”. I suppose they could stomp in the sand as the couple walks away.
In today’s society very few wedding traditions from the past are carried on in the ceremonies. Couples now are choosing the more traditional weddings and not knowing what all the old traditions and rituals stand for.
... A final prayer ends the ceremony. The women then rush to the kitchen to serve dinner while the men set up the tables. After dinner the afternoon is spent visiting, playing games and matchmaking. Sometimes the bride will match unmarried boys and girls who are over 16 years old to sit together at the evening meal which ustarts at 5:00 P.M. The day usually ends around 10:30 P.M.
When couples decided to get married, something they need to consider is if they would like to follow the tradition of
Flowers, diamond rings, and vowels: all these things are vital when it comes to the traditional American wedding. Because they all symbolize the emotion of love, which American marriages are based on. However in China where love is not the basis of marriage such symbolizations don't exist and this can be seen in a traditional Chinese wedding.
Although modern weddings have similar customs to Ancient Roman weddings, they were still different. While there are many differences, there are still similarities. The elements of a marriage in ancient Roman culture consisted of an engagement, choosing the date, the preparation of the bride, and the location of the wedding. While the much broader subjects are similar, the way it is performed is changed.
magic to help others (Roy N. p.). In fact, the Wiccan creed is, “An it
What is a wedding? Almost all would agree that a wedding is a ceremony representing the union of two becoming one in marriage. Although, it is hardly possible to understand a wedding if the definition of marriage is unclear. Marriage is significantly harder to define because the motives behind marriage are multiple and differ between every person on earth. While some marry because culture holds one as insignificant or incomplete living life singly, some marriages are pre-arranged by parents; one may marry for financial stability while others marry for social status; many marry because of a feeling associated with a person that one cannot imagine life without, while many also marry because they enjoy spending time with someone. While the intentions
Weddings in Italy are very different from the way American do theirs. Italian’s have lots of traditions that make sense, but don’t necessarily mean the things will happen. For example, the bride and groom will walk to their wedding ceremony together. On their way there the bride and groom will be set up with certain obstacles. One obstacle could be a broom in the road, and if the bride stops to pick it up that means she’ll keep the house clean and organized. If there’s a baby that needs help and she stops to help the baby, then that means she’ll be a good mother. In past wedding ceremonies the bride and grooms parents would plan the wedding for them. If the bride’s father doesn’t approve of something about the engagement, or even the man she’s with, he could stop everything in it’s tracks and, poof, there would be no wedding. Most times the groom would set up a matchmaker and send her, or him, to the brides house to tell her he wants to marry. Only if the family liked the proposal there would be a wedding, though. Most of the decisions were up to the parents, and parents always liked diamond engagements. Those types of engagements have been the most popular way of getting engaged since the 1400’s. It’s because Italians think a diamond stone is created by the flames of love. Of course every person has their certain ways of doing things whether they believe in superstitions or not. Some good luck traditions in a wedding include getting married on a Sunday, but avoiding August and May for any day of the month. Brides will also tear their veils when the ceremonies over to make luck happen. For grooms, they’ll end up bringing along a little chunk of iron in their pockets to ward off all the bad spirits. After making al...
There are many different wedding and marriage traditions in parts of Africa. If a couple is planning on marrying, it is considered rude to not notify about the marriage to the community. Marriage to them is considered a privilege, not a right, which means they do not need a certificate to prove their love, or a license to be together. A woman, when about to get married, is respected and cherished, for she may one day carry a child that will be born to the community one day. Occasionally, the groom’s family will move out to the bride’s community to be with her, in hope of raising a strong family. Some popular wedding traditions are still even followed today. A favored wedding tradition is the traditional knock on the door. The groom knocks on the family of the bride’s door and waits for the acceptance of his knock. If the door is opened, they have a celebration of the couple and marry. Some other common ones include: jumping the broom's, crossing sticks, and tasting the four elements. Their weddings tend to be very flamboyant and energetic, but it really doesn't matter how dynamic the marriage is because the main focus is the spiritual and symbolic meaning the wedding has. Depending on what part of Africa you are in, bases how the African wedding will
Today the ceremony can be performed at the wedding after the minister pronounces the couple man and wife or at the reception just after the bridal party enters the reception area.
Although what we were told by God, in many primitive civilizations marriage was primarily industrial. During early times husband and wife were not much together; they did not even eat together very often.(The Marriage Institution 1). Their marriages were always planned by their parents and in some cases brides were bought. Polygamy was also frequent in the early history of marriage. Although, as civilization progressed monogamy became the idealistic goal of human sex evolution.(The Marriage Institution 6). In addition, as civilization advanced, marriage became more seriously regarded and the wedding ceremony became recurrent. The marriage ceremony grew out of the fact that marriage was originally a community affair and also primitive man had no records, so the marriage had to be witnessed by many people.
This paper explores and distinguishes different marriage practices across the globe. My goal is for the reader to be able to analyze each culture, and their customs, and be able to distinguish differences between the two. I have compiled a plethora of information from the provided resources. I met the limited requirements by using three of the sixteen provided for my use. I used the three sources to gain further knowledge about the subject at hand. Two of the three articles were used to compare different cultural marriage practices, whilst the third was used to differentiate the two, and show why I think diversity is vital in modern globalization.
The Merriam Webster definition of a museum is “an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value; also: a place where objects are exhibited." To find an artifact, the first thing I thought of was going to a museum because it seemed the most obvious place to find a piece of history. As I searched through four museums and hallowed in the artifacts set aside there, I found nothing that peaked my personal interest of the study of humanities. Alas, it hit me; a cemetery would be perfect for my interest in customs of my personal religious beliefs. I had passed this particular cemetery countless times as a child that I had never truly thought of at all. What better place to find an object of permanent value than a cemetery? At the corner of Cypresswood and I-45, I began to sift into a cemetery that I had no true interest in, or so I thought. The cemetery was home to about twenty burial plots, each one a little different in its own way, but one particularly interested me. The headstone read Friedrich August Wunsche, Geb July 20, 1837, Gest May 3, 1897. I decided on this tombstone because of its architecture and time period of the person it commemorated; it is the sole surviving memory of this man. Etched into the bottom of the tombstone were the last words of his family to the world, faded and eroded by the winds of time they were left in German and incomprehensible to most modern Americans. The words had a meaning seeming to say, In Thee O Lord have I put my trust, which was repeated on the other tombstones in modern English. This is a shrine of sorts to his life; this man lived in the union, probably fought for the confederacy and then died when the United States was once again u...
People in all countries of the world celebrate their important events like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and funerals, etc. However, the ways we have celebrations are different from cultures to cultures and countries to countries. Thus, Vietnamese and Americans have different celebrations for their events, and people in those countries celebrate their weddings differently in preparations, costumes, and ceremonies.
Many Hindu weddings have also experienced transculturation and have taken on a dual Indian/ Western celebration. The weddings still retain the same ritualistic practices, clothing, food and music but the weddings also have taken a western approach in which the couple would change from traditional Indian clothing to a wedding dress and a suit and celebrate a western styles wedding reception with cake, western music and dances. In addition, the use of the bamboo maro[1] to facilitate the wedding rituals has become more creolized by being constructed out of wood and in few cases-
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli