Greec wedding traditions (0)

Greek Wedding Traditions
Weddings in Greece are quite important , specially in religious people. It all starts with the engagement, which is held in the presence of family and friends . The bride and the groom will exchange rings . After that there is usually a feast to celebrate the engagement.
Wedding day is usually Sunday, because it is supposed to bring good luck to the young couple. All the week before the weddings is also important. During the whole week quests visit bride and groom and leave them gifts on their marriage bed. On Wednesday it is customed that relatives come to bride’ s and groom’ s new house and watch the flour being sieved by a boy and a girl. Through that process there is silence. When there is enough flour people throw coins into it and yell their wishes of good luck. On Friday there is a ritual called “ filling of the sacks” . That means that the bride fills sacks with all her possessions while visitors throw coins in among her things. At the same time groom is sending pitchers of wine around the village to friends and family with an invitation to the wedding. The bride’s father does the same thing to his friends and family and the bride goes around the village on Saturday, but instead of wine she gives out sweets.
Before the weddings there are all sorts of traditions. It all starts with raising a wedding flag at the groom’s house. Then people come with the flag to the bride’s house, where the bride's mother offers the groom wine and herbs for his lapel. After that the bride leaves for church with one male relative and the rest of the quests follow her to church on foot . It is also a custom that the bride’s male relatives slap the groom on his back , it is known as a way of welcoming the groom into the family. Another tradition before the weddings is a “baby rolling ” tradition. During this thing the friends’ and relatives’ babies are being gently rolled from one side to another on the matrimonial bed. The bed is also strewn with rose petals, coins and sugar -coated almonds. It is all supposed to bring fertility, happiness and prosperity to the new marriage. Of course the well known tradition of groom not seeing his bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony is considered bad luck in Greece too.
Koumbaros is the most important person man at a Greek wedding who is not the groom or the priest . Usually that man is the groom’s godfather, but it can also be some other man, who is named as a mark of great honor. He has an extended duties during the ceremony. He holds twin crowns over the heads of the bride and groom, which shows that the couple are the King and Queen of their union as man and wife . And he also joins them in a symbolic gesture by circling the alter three times . It is held as the first walk made by the married couple. The number three is as a sign of the Holy Trinity. Then the priest takes the rings in his hand and makes the sign of the cross over the heads of the couple. Koumbaros then takes the rings and exchanges them between the bride and groom three times . The exchange reminds the couple that in married life the weaknesses of one should be compensated by the strengths of the other, and the perfections of one should compensate for the imperfections in the other. Traditionally, the Greek bride wears the wedding ring on her left hand until the ceremony and then it is moved to her right hand. And it is said that if you want to be sure of a sweet life, then you should carry a lump of sugar in your glove on your wedding day. After the ceremony the bride goes to the groom's house where the wedding flag is raised again. Then she throws a piece of old iron onto the roof to symbolize the strength of her new home.
Then there is the reception . It is a Greek tradition to dance the Kalamantiano, the Circle Dance at the reception. It is danced by all the family and it is the first dance that these two families dance together as one. During the reception a traditional plate smashing celebration is held because broken plates symbolize good luck and happiness and the permanence of marriage. Another dance in Greek wedding is the money dance. This one is danced by the bride and the groom. During this almost never -ending dance the guests will pin several notes and money on the bride’s and groom’s outfit instead of giving gifts. At the reception almond candies covered in white chocolate are being served. They are wrapped up in a netting and given to all the guests as they leave. Tradition dictates that there must be an odd number of candies in each package. And of course another feast is held at the reception.

The Kalamantiano