Interesting & Weirdest Facts About Wedding Rituals Around the World

Weirdest wedding rituals around the World, You might not have even heard before.

It is a common notion embedded deep into our heads that marriages are made in heaven and solemnized on earth. But what if your marriage turns out to be the funniest one to be remembered lifetime? Although marriages are such great events in one’s life it might turn out to be a wholly fun fare or may be embarrassing.

1. Your Surname belongs to ME

This can be called the most common marriage ritual around in the World.
Traditionally in most of the cultures, Women or Wife drops their birth surname and replaces it with the family name of her spouse.

2. Gifting a whale tooth for the bride’s dad

There is a custom in Fiji where the Bridegroom has to gift a whale’s tooth to the bride’s father before he can ask for the bride’s hand for marriage.

3. The big fat Indian Wedding and 7 Vows

In North Indian Hindu custom, The bride and groom takes seven rounds around the sacred fire (Agni Dev- Hindu god of fire) in a marriage ceremony. “Saat phere” in the Hindi language. Any Hindu wedding is incomplete without this ritual.

During the ceremony, the couple takes 7 rounds around the holy fire. Each round is a lifetime promise to each other in the presence of God (fire).

4. Fat African brides

It is customary for the brides to be fat in Mauritania as the local tradition says that fat brides bring good luck to one’s marriage. Some girls are forced fed in Mauritania in order to look on their wedding day. They think more fat the bride will be, the rich and handsome the groom would be.

5. Money Dance | Wedding guest sponsored Honeymoon

The money dance or dollar dance, culture originated in Poland during 1900s. Where male guests place money in bride apron & get the opportunity to dance with the bride, and sometimes female guests pay to dance with the groom, At wedding reception.

A couple uses all the collected money to spend on their honeymoon. This custom is widely popular in Poland, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Philippines, Nigeria, Mexico, United States.

6. Rice, Symbol of completeness in South India

Hindus(especially in south India), considered rice as the symbols of wealth and prosperity. Therefore, they shower it on newly married couples in form of blessings in future and fertility. Rice has similar importance in western cultures as well.

7. Dissect a chicken and check the liver | Made in china ritual

There is a pre-ritual in Daur, China where the newlywed couple has to dissect a chicken and check whether the liver is healthy or not. If the liver comes out healthy so will their married life remain healthy according to their famous beliefs.

8. Courting Hut Cambodia

In some tribes of Africa, there is a tradition which takes place before marriage where a young girl is let to court potential spouses inside a hut from the prying eyes of the village elders and her parents.

The girl spends the night with different boys in the cottage away from family, Sometimes more than the one in the same night. She can remain in courting until she does not find a suitable match.

9. Congo no smiling wedding ceremony

Who won’t be liking themselves smiling in their marriage album, would you? But unfortunately, in Congo, it is considered very unlucky for the bride and groom smiling during the wedding ceremony. The couple have to sit expressionless during the entire wedding, due to the traditional seriousness for this ceremony.

10. Groom kidnapping India | Unlike more like a crime, less like a custom

Groom kidnapping for better understanding “forced marriage” phenomenon practice in bihar & uttar pradesh, Northan India. Where young Eligible bachelors are kidnapped by the bride’s family and forcefully get married, to avoid paying the huge dowry.
There were about 3000 cases of groom kidnapping in the year 2016.

11. The Bridal Kidnapping | Bitter truth but still exists

Bride kidnapping or marriage by abduction is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry.
It has been practiced around the world throughout in history. Now declared illegal across the world now but still exists in some countries like Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Chechnya.
In agriculture dominant societies, where children work along with their family in the farms. Families do not want their daughters to marry young and demand monetary compensation (bride price) against their loss of labour. This conflicts with the interests of men, who wants to marry early, and gave to the birth of this weird custom.

12. Blackening of the bride’s face

In Scotland, there is a very nasty tradition where the bride’s face is blackened and both the bridegroom are pelted with rotten eggs and fish. It is believed that if the newly wedded couple can withstand it they can even withstand anything during their married life.