The best wedding traditions in Russia. Wedding customs in Russia

Two loving hearts decided to create a new union. Ahead there is a lot of pleasant troubles for the preparation of the celebration. It's time to remember what wedding traditions exist . In Russia, most couples try to adhere to even the most basic ones. All customs carry a semantic load, which we often do not remember, performing all the unwritten rules, rather, out of habit, that was, like everyone else. Let's try to figure out what the customs and traditions symbolize at the wedding in Russia.

Wedding Dress

The first thing that comes to mind when you recall the wedding traditions in Russia is a wedding dress. Romantic and airy, modest and innocent, luxurious and elegant - it can be anything, the main thing is that the bride should feel herself to be the most beautiful in her day. Despite this, most girls choose white outfits. And only in rare cases do they agree to the attire in which someone has already married. Usually this is my mother's dress, if she has a happy marriage. Why is it white and new? This color symbolizes youth and innocence. Therefore, many women, getting married for the second time, choose blue or variations of the color of champagne, believing that they already put on their white outfit. The new dress symbolizes a new life, which begins with the day of marriage.

By the way, the white color in the tradition of the wedding in Russia came from Europe. Long since our girls married in red dresses, which symbolized fertility. Fashion is changeable, including on wedding images. Many modern brides tend to get away from traditional colors, adding to their side bright or, on the contrary, delicate ribbons or other finishes. Red is now chosen only by the most extraordinary and extravagant people.

Veil

The history of the veil as an attribute of the wedding dress counts about two thousand years. Roman brides concealed their faces under a veil as a sign of modesty, chastity and mystery. Only after the ceremony, the husband could take this veil with his beloved. In the East, however, the veil did not adorn the young woman, but kept between the future spouses, so that they could not touch each other until their first night.

Wedding traditions in Russia oblige the brides, the first time getting married, to wear a veil. If the marriage is second, then it becomes unnecessary. Today, this custom is no longer so serious. Fat is perceived, rather, as an accessory, complementing the hair, along with a diadem for example. Sometimes a small veil, attached to the hat, is put on instead of it. You can do without this element of the wardrobe at all.

Old and new, borrowed and slightly blue

With this phrase, modern wedding traditions in Russia describe the overall outfit of the bride. "New" is, undoubtedly, a dress - a symbol of entry into a clean and bright family life. "Old" - usually it's jewelry, transmitted in the family from mother to daughter. It is not necessary to talk about family diamonds, it is perfectly permissible to use some detail of the mother's wedding dress. This thing will symbolize the link between generations, that part of the parental warmth that they have invested in their daughter and which she will bring to her own family. "Loans taken" - this is a baggage that my friends lent. It will mean that close to the young family there will always be friends and close people who are always ready to help and support. The blue color in the outfit is a symbol of peace and harmony in the future family. It can be used in makeup brides, dresses and accessories. Often put on a blue garter.

Rings

Wedding traditions in Russia, as in other countries, can not do without the exchange of rings. Young people going to get married, today choose jewelry from precious metals - gold, silver, platinum, smooth or with stones, decorated with carvings and engraving. And yet traditional wedding rings are smooth, without inserts and ornaments. Why is it so? The ring is an infinite straight line, without beginning and end. It symbolizes a long future family life. Every pebble or roughness, according to popular beliefs, means some misfortune on the way of a young family, as the ring is closed, troubles will be repeated time after time, in a circle. Here and choose the most often smooth rims.

Blessing

Discussing the traditions of the wedding in Russia, one should not forget about the important custom of obtaining a parental blessing. It is this that gives a happy start to family life. The absence of parental approval can still be considered a weighty reason for the wedding not to take place. Each of the newlyweds in the morning on the day of the celebration should bless mothers or godmothers.

Redemption

Like many years ago, a modern traditional wedding in Russia can not do without the rite of ransom of the bride. This custom has existed in our country since time immemorial. It symbolizes the transition of a girl from her parent's nest to her husband's family. The sacred meaning of this ritual is almost lost, now the ransom has turned into a merry act designed to amuse the guests. The groom has to show remarkable wit to cope with all the tasks that the bride's girlfriends have prepared for him. Often they help to demonstrate how well the future husband knows the beloved and what heavenly life he promises her. If the task is not fulfilled, you have to pay off money or sweets - from the smallest participants. Bring his fiancé to his friends. Sometimes they manage to break through, missing some of the tasks. In any case, ransom is one of the most fun rituals.

Bridal bouquet and boutonniere groom

The best Russian wedding traditions (and the most beautiful ones) are associated with the bride's bouquet. Earlier the groom made it himself. He could pick flowers in the field or ask any of the neighbors to cut off the plant they liked in the garden. Such a request was usually not denied. Today, a rare girl will allow the groom to order a bouquet in the cabin without her approval, yet he is one of the main wedding accessories and should harmoniously fit into the image. The groom is not allowed to see the dress in advance, so he is unlikely to be able to pick flowers himself.

For the first time its role is played by the bouquet at the bride's ransom. When the future happy husband overcomes all obstacles, he gives his favorite bouquet. The ransom stops at the moment when she takes the bouquet in her hands - it means consent. Next, the girl must take out one flower from the bouquet and pin it on the groom's breast. Hence the tradition of boutonniere. It always consists of the same colors and is similarly framed.

The custom to throw a bouquet of the bride in the crowd of unmarried friends, and the second - a garter to the groom's friends, came to us from Europe. Not so often the well-known sign works, but the cheerful tradition has perfectly taken root. And the guests gladly support her. The main bouquet is usually taken care of, for the throwing order a second, smaller sizes that a girl caught by him can pick up, sometimes using artificial flowers.

The crumbling of the newlyweds with grain

After the marriage ceremony is over, usually at the exit of the registry office, the guests waiting for the newlyweds are lining up on both sides of the exit, forming a tunnel through which the bridegroom carries the bride in her arms and sprinkle them with corn, small coins or rose petals. This action is included in the wedding traditions of the peoples of Russia and many other countries. Different objects can be used, but the sense of the ceremony is the same. It symbolizes the wishes of happiness, wealth and fertility for the newly-born family.

Bread and salt

At the entrance to the house where the newlyweds will live, the parents of the bridegroom are waiting for the young with bread and salt - a festive loaf. It is adorned with the image of swans, clusters of mountain ash and other symbols of wealth, fidelity and fertility. Bread symbolizes the wealth and prosperity that the young family desires, and the salt should protect them from evil forces. Young should bite off each one in a piece of loaf and eat. There is a sign - who grabs a bigger piece, he will be the head of the family.

There are other wedding traditions in Russia associated with the arrival of a new home. The groom must certainly transfer the bride through the threshold on his hands. This custom should protect it from evil eye, diseases and other misfortunes. If the girl did not enter on her feet, then she was not in this place.

For the young, they spread the fur coat upward with fur - a symbol of wealth. Who was the first to fall on her knees, he and the head of the family.

Beating dishes for happiness

Many wedding traditions and wedding customs in Russia come from villages. The custom to beat the dishes for happiness, too, from there. On the second day after the celebration, it was decided to beat clay pots. If the dishwasher broke, then the girl got married clean and unblemished. Even if the cracks did not appear, the bride could begin to slander. It was believed that the more fragments, the more happiness the young will encounter on their way.

New Wedding Rituals

In each city, there are variations of their wedding traditions and their places, where the young must necessarily go during a walk after the registry office. Among them, there must necessarily be a bridge through which the bridegroom must move the bride in her arms so that she does not touch the ground with her feet. Often on the fences of the bridge hang locks with the date of the wedding and the names of the newlyweds. Together they lock them and throw the key into the water, as if consolidating their union and throwing away the only possibility of its destruction. Sometimes ribbons are attached to trees for happiness.

The sacral meaning of wedding ceremonies is often not known to anyone. They are perceived only as old good traditions and a way of amusing the guests. Nevertheless, most couples who marry tend to follow the customs known to them, believing that they will be able to make their marriage more successful.