Marriage
You already have a girlfriend and want to marry her?
You start of by asking for her hand in marriage. Remember,
it doesn’t have to be elaborate, although flowers are always good.
Once she agrees, your next task is to seek the parent’s permission.
Polish wedding are normally preceded by an engagement.
Held in the presence of her family and friends, an engagement is considered
as socially binding and is simply the precursor for marriage. The highlight
of the ceremony is when both of your hands are loosely tied with a strip
of white cloth while keeping it above a loaf of bread. This custom signifies
unity and prosperity for the couple.
The wedding will follow soon after. Please familiarize
yourself with the etiquettes of invitations, as wrongly handled, it could
be a major social disaster and potentially alienate you from the mainstream
society. Firstly, the invitation must be sent to both of your godparents
(although, priority must be given to hers', under the circumstances).
Upon receiving their blessing, your next target is your potential groomsmen
and bridesmaid. Next, you head for the relatives, neighbors and close
friends, in that order. If your wedding is held in small village, then
you are duty bound to invite everyone for the wedding. In a large city,
you can probably limit it to your immediate neighborhood.
On the wedding day, a band will be stationed in front of the bride’s
house to provide the atmosphere. Your arrival will kick the music a notch higher
and the guests will make way for the bride and yourself to seek the blessing
of her parents. The parents will sprinkle holy water on the both of you to
signal their approval and provide cleansing from misfortune.
Everyone will then make his or her way to the local
Church where the priest will solemnize the wedding. Of late, the wedding
ring has begun to gain popularity in the community, so in advance, enquire
from your betrothed if she would like the ring exchange to be included
in the ceremony. The final part of the ceremony is when everyone waits
for the bride to cry. In such a highly emotional state, brides normally
will oblige without much ado. However, failure to shed tears is an omen
of bad luck, and her marriage life will be filled with tears.
The ensuing feast will be a joyous one for you, we believe.
You and your new bride will sit near the entrance, against the wall,
flanked by your groomsmen and bridesmaid who will be your waiters for
the day. The fest can sometimes last for days (although nowadays, it
is largely uncommon), so take all the help you’re offered.
The reception begins with the newlyweds taking a sip
of liquor from a large mug. The mug is then passed around for everyone
to take a sip as well. While the mug is making the round, toasts of good
health can be heard repeatedly and some will begin to sing popular traditional
songs, which will eventually involve all the guests.
As the guests starts to eat, drink and generally be
merry, various traditional games are played, lending laughter to an already
festive atmosphere.
One game particularly stands out though. Aptly named
as the money dance, guests place some money into the bridal pot to earn
them a dance with the bride. Depending on your new bride’s stamina,
you could actually make enough to pay for your wedding expenses.
The feast concludes with the Polish capping ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes
the bride’s arrival to full womanhood when the bride’s godmother
places a Czepek, a traditional Polish bonnet, on her. The Czepek gift ends
the godmother’s official responsibility for her goddaughter. The Czepek
will be kept by the bride and worn during special moments in her life, and
will ultimately be worn during her own funeral.
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Mexican Girlfriends