German bridal customs add a joyful blend of customs and frolicsome challenges to a couple’s trip into marriage https://www.catholicherald.com/article/columns/why-is-st-valentine-a-symbol-of-love/, from breaking dishes to sawing through logs. Family and friends gather outside the princess’s home to crack numerous enamel meals to provide great fortune to the couple’s matrimony in one of the pre-wedding rituals known as Polterabend. The couple is therefore required to remove all the shards themselves, reiterating their commitment to working collectively through any challenges they may encounter in the future.
A post-wedding ceremony known as the la rotie in Italy is incredibly intimate and lurid, but it has a strong connection to the country’s remote tradition. After the ceremony, a group of companions abduct the bride and groom, who then transports them to a pub or restaurant where they serve the brides with a glass of champagne and chocolates served in a chamber container. The couple bulgarian brides will therefore share a bowl of vegetable soup, which represents married life’s daily intimateity.
Although it may seem common to most people to sprinkle grain or petals on newlyweds, in Poland, oats and barley are also sprinkled on the couple to wish them good fortune and fecundity. Before the wedding ceremony, the couple is also sprinkled with salt and bread, which are considered the essentials of life, to ensure that they always have what they need to survive. Additionally, it is customary for the couple to step on vodka bottles that are displayed at the venue’s «passing gates» and wish them good fortune and abundance.
