Fri 26/Feb/2010

   Fri 26/Feb/2010

   Where rituals play prominent roles

   What comes in your mind when you think about wedding? For majority of people it is a grand party where a festive mood prevails, people are seen in gorgeous costumes and of course a magnificent dinner party where guests are given a treat by the parents of the new couple. Guests who come to attend a wedding party finish their job by presenting the newly wed couple with gifts and get back home after having the dinner. But a wedding is not just about the party. It is a huge occasion where various rituals and religious traditions play significant roles to make the moments auspicious. In every religion there are specific rituals marked for each phase that a bride and groom along with their parents go through before being declared as a couple. A Jewish wedding is one such event where rituals and religious traditions play very prominent roles. Being an attendant of a number of Jewish weddings I have gathered a little idea about it and would like to share it with you folks. It all starts from the week preceding the wedding and both the bride and groom go through several steps. They start with visiting houses of their relatives and friends of their parents where they are blessed with gifts. This is an extraordinary journey for both the young souls as they are accompanied by their female and male friends respectively. A wedding is certainly a ceremony of joy but sense of sorrow gets blended with it, specially for the bride’s family as their beloved daughter leave her family to join the groom’s family. The groom too gets out of his family to become a member of bride’s home. To symbolise this sorrow it is customary for both of them to wear white attires and stay on fast during the last 48 hours before the wedding. The wedding day starts for the bride with a holy bath where she is blessed by her mother while combing the hair. For the groom it is mostly a celebration time as he is escorted to the wedding venue with gifts and sweets by the female companions of the bride. The wedding takes place under a beautifully decorated canopy, which they call the huppa. The real wedding starts with signing the marriage contract (known as ketuba) and is followed by the groom putting the wedding ring on the bride’s finger. When its done, the priest read the wedding contract in presence of the parents of both the parties and the bride and groom are declared married. This is followed by the bride and groom sharing wine from the same cup after which they take a short rest before joining guests at the wedding reception. Log on to www.supertova.com to get more details on Jewish wedding. Small article: Jewish wedding is a very colorful even which is enriched by various rituals and religious traditions. There is a series of events that both the bride and the groom follow before being declared married. There are specific rituals for each step of a Jewish wedding and each one plays a very prominent role in making the wedding auspicious.
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