The Royal Wedding has come and gone. It was an event witnessed by
billions of people from all over the world. The ceremony was beautiful,
everybody will agree. But only because it was a ceremony peppered with
wedding traditions that we are all familiar with. But what if one of the
following took place? For a dose of weird when it comes to weddings,
check out the following list. Some of these will make you reconsider a
lifetime of love and happiness for sure.
1. Blackening of the Bride
Imagine that you are the bride. You are getting ready for probably
the most important day of your life. You want nothing but the best
beauty rest you can have in the near future. Unfortunately, if you are
somewhere in Scotland, you will not enjoy said beauty rest. You will be
pretty much treated like trash. Blackening of the Bride involves
throwing eggs, sauces, and rotten stuff at the bride. Sounds relaxing,
right? That’s not the end of it, though. You will be paraded around
town, stopping at pubs here and there.
2. The Crying Bride
Despite being happy occasions, we cannot help but cry during
weddings. But it’s one thing to cry during the ceremony and completely
another to cry for hours and hours a month before the event. This is
exactly what the bride does in a Tujia (an ethinic minority in China)
wedding. A month before the ceremony, the bride will cry for about an
hour. Ten days after that, she will be joined by her mother during this
weeping episode. Then other lady relatives will join them.
3. Marrying A Thing
If you are from India and are a Manglik Dosh, you are cursed. In
relation to marriages, it is stated that Manglisk Dosh women (those born
when Mars and Saturn are under the seventh house in the birth chart)
will cause their husband’s death. But there is a way to bypass this
curse. What you can do is marry a tree or a silver/golden idol first. Do
not worry, this is not a lasting commitment. In fact, you will have to
destroy the tree or idol when you finally marry your human boyfriend.
4. Throwing of the Dishes
A perfect way to relieve stress? Or a waste of good China? In
Germany, the throwing of the dishes is an age-old tradition. What
happens is that guests of the wedding break plates, cups, bowls,
glasses, and just about everything breakable. The bride and groom will
then be left to clean up the mess. Apparently, this will cement the
union. This warns (or threatens) the newlyweds that they will have
hardships and they had better cooperate with each other if they want
their marriage to succeed.
6. Shooting the Bride
Being pelted with eggs and rotten fruits is one thing but how would
you feel if the bridegroom throws arrows at you? Is this an indication
that marriage will kill you? Well, not quite. In the Yugur (an ethnic
minority in China) tradition, the bridegroom shoots three arrows at the
bride. They do not have arrowheads, however. The bridegroom will then
retrieve these arrows and break them. The bow is not spared. According
to this tradition, this strange custom will ensure that the couple will
love each other forever. It’s a little bit romantic, isn’t it?
7. Keep it All In
Well, this one can get painful and ugly. Members of the Tidong
community in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia do not allow newlyweds to go to
the bathroom for 3 days and 3 nights. If they do, they will have bad
luck, apparently. Bad luck may come in the form of broken union, death
of children, or even infertility. It is the job of their relatives to
make sure that the couple don’t leave the house. They still have to eat,
though, so they are fed only small amounts of food and water.
8. Save the Date
How do you decide the date of the wedding? Typically, you consult a
chart or set the wedding on a day special to the bride and groom. Not
the people of the Daur, though. They can be found in the Heilongjiang
Province of Chinese Inner Mongolia. The wedding date is set at the
expense of a chick’s (or chicks’) life. The couple kills a chick
together and inspects the liver. If the liver is in good condition, they
pick a date. Unfortunately, if the liver does not meet their
expectations, another chick goes under the knife. Ouch!
9. Kidnap the Bride
This is an age-old wedding tradition of the Romani people. This is
one tradition that is essentially illegal in most parts of the world.
What happens is that the groom will abduct the girl that he wants to
marry. If he can keep her for a couple of days, the marriage is then
considered legal and binding. A more playful version of bride kidnapping
is practiced in Germany. Friends of the couple simply kidnap and hide
the bride and then tells the groom to find and save her. This is done
with the assistance of alcohol, of course.
10. A Kissing Party
