Family heirloom:
In Slovenia, the wedding dress is passed down from mother to daughter as a symbol of good luck. So, a wedding dress can be passed on for many generations while becoming old. Obviously, you can't start such a transmission easily. However, if your great-grandmother didn't think of this idea, you might as well start it for once; even if your mother or grandmother didn't have a long dress that you're interested in passing down, maybe your aunt will. If you're going to buy a new wedding dress, be careful to pick one that will last for generations.
Removing the veil:
In a traditional Latvian wedding, the bride doesn't change out of her wedding clothes until midnight, when she leaves the house to become a young woman. Before she leaves, she takes off her veil and gives it to an unmarried woman (usually her or her husband's youngest unmarried sister).
Once the bride removes her veil, she ends her role as a bride. Afterwards, a female relative usually gives her a special square scarf or hat to put on her head to show that she is no longer a bride but a wife. From this point on, the role of their veil is roughly the same as the American bridal bouquet. Some Latvian brides even put the veil and flowers tied into a wreath together on the head. This custom has a long history, initially this wreath is made of the bride's hand-planted Eros wood tied. In the old tradition, girls began to cultivate this flower on their windowsills for the wedding day from a very young age.
Tearing the wedding dress:
In many European countries, the bride herself is considered a symbol of great luck. In ancient times, guests attending the wedding in order to be able to dip some good luck to go home, they will really from the bride's wedding dress to tear one, today people tear the bride's bouquet evolved from this custom, tearing the bouquet can be much more civilized than tearing the bride's wedding dress.
Lucky shoes:
Other customs of taking things from the bride go back a long way, when brides were symbolically either hijacked or purchased by their grooms. For example, at Croatian weddings, guests would try to steal the bride's shoes, and then the groomsmen would have to shell out money to buy it back from the hijackers before returning it to the bride.
At Serbian weddings, it used to be customary for the bride's mother-in-law to give the bride a necklace of gold coins, which has now been replaced by "stockings and a pair of fat shoes". Perhaps this gift is to remind the bride that after the day of attention, she will have to be a busy wife.
The magnificent tiara:
Traditional weddings in Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia include the wearing of a tiara, which is the culmination of the entire wedding. The tiara serves to symbolize the splendor and dignity that God has bestowed on the newlyweds at the wedding. The bride and groom are crowned king and queen of their domain (their two families), where they are expected to hold their home and state with their wisdom and sincerity.
At Romanian weddings, the priest places flower crowns, usually made of gold and Eros wood, on the heads of the bride and groom, and throughout the ceremony he swaps the crowns of the bride and groom three times to symbolize their union. At Georgian weddings, the newlyweds also wear a veil and a flower garland on their heads. According to Armenian tradition after the wedding the crowns of the bride and groom are worn for a week, and this **** lasts for eight days. During the ceremony, the priest knocks the heads of the bride and the groom against each other (gently, of course), and then the newlyweds are crowned with two garlands of flowers decorated with gold thread.
In the wedding ceremonies of the Cossacks of eastern Russia, the groomsmen and ushers sometimes carry heavy, ornate tiaras that are held inches above the heads of the bride and groom for several minutes, until the priest cues them to place them on the heads of the bride and groom.
What goes on the head:
When it comes to what goes on the heads of the newlyweds, what goes on the heads of Russian brides is nothing short of cake. During the traditional three-day wedding in Russia, brides can pile all kinds of things on their heads, such as veils, gold- or silver-plated tiaras, pieces of satin or taffeta, and at the banquet on the eve of the wedding, silver pieces, barley, and oats are stirred together on the heads of the bride and groom. On the day of the wedding, the priest holds aloft the heads of the newlyweds and the statue of their patron saint, and then places a garland of rue and wormwood on the heads of the bride and groom. After that, he sprinkled hops on the bride's head as a symbol of her fertility, while he greeted the wedding guests by asking them to come forward and sprinkle flaxseed and hempseed on the bride's and groom's heads as a blessing for prosperity and abundance. And so the wedding ended.
Various traditional customs and rituals in Nanjing
"Tasting three new things at the beginning of summer"
At the beginning of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the weather is getting warmer and warmer, and everything is thriving. Three wheat rape has matured, cherries, plums, loquats and other fruits are on the market one after another, a variety of vegetables are also born in time. At this time, people naturally need a change of taste, Nanjing has "summer taste three new" custom. "Three new" refers to the cherry, plum, anchovies.
Cherry, also known as peach, there are Zhu Cherry, purple cherry two kinds of sweet taste, can adjust the spleen, beauty face. In ancient times, it was often used to worship the temple, as tribute, the court also used to give officials.
Green plum, refers to unripe plum, sour and crisp flavor, can be mixed with honey to eat.
Yellowtail, every year at the beginning of spring and summer, the fish from the coastal waters back upstream to the river to spawn. History: "Yellowtail March out of the Yangzi River, the flavor is very sweet, but more bones and quick rot." It is one of the valuable fish in the Yangtze River.
"Send summer"
Into the summer, the weather is not only turning hot, a variety of infectious diseases also increased, some people's digestive power sharply reduced, will not think of food, that is, the so-called "Resistance and Resistance to Summer". Nanjing custom has "send summer" (parents to the married daughter to send cool pillows, feather fan, summer clothing), weighing (it is said that after weighing in the summer, it will not resist summer). Nanjing people also like to eat pea cakes, "Jinling Times" said: "the summer called children riding the threshold, eating pea cakes, said not to resist summer."
"Silkworm month" closed
The fourth month of the lunar calendar, people in Jiangnan also called "silkworm month", which coincides with the silkworms on the cluster cocoon. Nanjing suburbs of sericulture family, in order to avoid silkworm disease, during the summer period, the family closed, taboo contacts, "silkworm family taboo guests door closed" custom.
Eat "Wu rice"
On the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, farmers in suburban counties of Nanjing generally have to steam Jiangnan's unique black, shiny, fragrant and delicious green rice, commonly known as Wu rice, also known as the "Ami rice". It is the use of the southern sky candle (that is, the green essence of the tree) stems and leaves pounded and soaked in glutinous rice, and then drying and steaming and become. Ancient people to do "nine immersed in nine steamed nine sun", rice tight, blue as a firm pearl. Cooking a bowl of food every day, can strengthen the muscles and bones, benefit the energy, solid essence of the face, known as the "immortal family food".
Legend has it that the eighth day of April is the Buddha Bathing Festival (Sakyamuni's birthday), the Western Buddhist disciples to black corn rice ritual, Chinese Buddhists also follow suit. Because the rice is delicious and good for health, people compete to cook it and give it to their friends and relatives, so it has become a custom. Farmers in Lishui and other places also make wine with wu rice. Lishui wu rice wine is usually made when a girl is born, and it is kept until the day when the girl grows up and gets married, so the wine is particularly fragrant and delicious.
In the past, Nanjing people used to go to temple fairs on this day to see the bathing Buddha and pray for peace. Every temple fair was crowded with people and was very lively.