Marriage Customs in Asian families

Marriage Customs in Asian families
From the rustic contour of rural marriages to the ultra glitzy cosmopolitan marriages, the world of marriage is a world of dazzling diversities. Different lands and different cultures have different marriage customs. Wedding customs and rituals vary greatly with different social classes, countries, religions, ethnic groups and cultures.

Marriages differ with cultures, but some common elements underline the philosophy of marriage. Marriage is the moment, when love unifies two individuals and binds them for life. From social point of view, marriage is central to the built of society. Marriage is a significant constructive unit of society. Marriage is the foundation of family on which, society is built. Society recognizes marriage through different ceremonies, rituals and traditions.

Some of the common elements mark wedding traditions across the world. Brides in the West wear white wedding dress, whereas red is the favored color for the wedding day in the East. White is the Victorian symbol of purity, whereas red is the symbol of richness. Exchange of wedding ring is another common factor of marriage. It is believed that a circular ring is the symbol of the full cycle of love.

Asian marriage customs have some common elements shaping them. Indian weddings are bright events full of gala and celebration. Indian wedding traditions vary across region, language, ethnicity, caste and religion. Traditional Indian weddings can be divided into ceremonies previous to the wedding day, the ceremonies of the day and post wedding ceremonies. The first phase of an Indian wedding is “ Bariksha”, when formal intention of bride’s parents for a groom is shown and the groom and his family have consented. During “ Tilak”, the bride’s parents goes to groom’s house to make the relationship formal.

Then other rituals are Varmala and the main wedding ceremony.

Chinese marriages today have retained some traditional elements and have incorporated some cosmopolitan elements. The traditions marriage customs of Chinese marriage include “three letters”. These three letters are written and delivered to the bride’s family by a female envoy of the groom’s family. The next stage of Chinese marriage consists of “six etiquettes.” Among these six steps, the last step is the ceremony of the wedding day. Red is the ruling color of Chinese wedding. The houses of both groom’s and bride’s families are decorated in red. The groom and the bride dress in red. A red cloth is used by the bride as veil.

In the European countries, the bride’s attire is white. The white dress and veil are the symbols of the purity of the bride. After the wedding, a wedding reception is given. An ornate wedding cake is served and cut. Some of the wedding traditions include the First Dance of the newly wed couple, toasting the couple and many other customs. Another custom is that the throwing of the bouquet by the bride among the bevy of unmarried ladies and whoever catches it is believed to be married soon.

European countries though have commonality in their wedding traditions, marriage customs vary from one region to another, like Italian marriage is different from French marriage.

Explore the world of marriage customs.