Boldog Esküvo Nap!

We haven't done one of these for awhile, but as Kayla has some Hungarian in her, we decided to take a look at some of their wedding traditions.

I think Rob would have liked this Hungarian tradition, but when couples are engaged, both the bride and groom wear rings. They wear them on their left hand during their engagement and at the ceremony move them to their right hand to signify marriage.

In rural villages, the bride processes with her family and bridal party from her home to the groom's home, where she drinks a glass of wine and breaks the glass by throwing it behind her. She may also break an egg to insure healthy children. Sometimes she is given sweet bread, coins or will break dishes for good luck.

A civil ceremony is necessary before the church ceremony. While the bride wears white for her wedding, Hungarian traditional embroidered wedding dresses are red, covered in flowers and includes an apron and elaborate headdress. Often times the bride may change into the traditional dress at the reception around midnight. The bride gifts her new husband three or seven handkerchiefs (three and seven are lucky numbers) and the groom gives the bride a bag of coins.

Wedding are usually in the late afternoon. Guests participate in singing, reading poetry or sharing stories about the couple as part of the ceremony. Names are interesting in Hungary in that the last name comes first. There is no Mr. and Mrs. prefix, so to show the bride is married she adds an "né" (meaning "wife of") at the end of her husband's name. So Ayla would become Goggin Robertné and Kayla would be Zimanek Antonné. Although these days, the bride can have her own first name combined with her husband's surname - which still comes first.

During the reception a huge feast is offered with lots of paprika to spice things up. Paprika is considered to have magical powers. After the meal, there may be traditional Hungarian folk dancing.

Sometimes a guest will steal the bride's shoe, which is held for ransom. The groom usually has to drink champagne out of the shoe to get it back (ew, ick) leaving the bride with a sticky, soggy shoe for the rest of the night. The Dollar Dance is popular at the reception as a way to raise money for the honeymoon (where guests pay to dance with the bride or groom). Usually just before the groom gets to the bride, she's kidnapped by the bridal party. Again the groom must do some activity to prove he is worthy of her to get her back and head for the honeymoon.

Because the party lasts all night, breakfast is offered to guests in the morning as they watch the sunrise on their new life together.

Boldog Esküvo Nap! (Happy Wedding Day!)

Discussion: What of the above traditions do you find interesting? Which are not appealing to you?

Prayer: Lord God, we give you glory and stand in awe of the different cultures found in this world. We thank you for all the differences and as for your blessing on the traditions used in our children's weddings. In Jesus name, Amen.