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Little known facts about marriage and the most unusual wedding customs in the world

Wedding customs around the world

Almost every woman dreams of a wedding and a prince on a white horse. But where did it all begin? Marriage is one of the oldest traditions, so it is not surprising that a lot of unusual wedding customs have accumulated in history. And there are only a few customs and traditions that have managed to preserve as long a tradition as weddings. Why do we exchange rings? Since when is June the month of weddings? Does a more lavish wedding really mean a greater likelihood of divorce? Learn more about all this and about the most unusual wedding customs around the world below.

Congratulations. You are engaged. But now you have to prepare for wedding planning. And even though it may sound like that exciting, is also stressful and burdensome, because you have to pay attention to a thousand and one details. And tradition! That's why we collected in a heap many interesting facts about marriage, which you need to know before you plan and start counting down the days until the best day of your life, especially if it will take place on foreign soil.

READ MORE: Scientists say that these are the right years to get married!

Wedding, a solemn ceremony that takes place differently in different cultures.
Wedding, a solemn ceremony that takes place differently in different cultures.

Weddings have always been with us, and our, i.e. Slovenian, performance is as follows. Throwing of rice and bouquet, exchange of wedding rings, white dress, church bells, wearing a ring finger, honking, young men and women, covering the bride with a veil, carrying the bride over the threshold, bachelorhood and bachelorhood, but it's like we have to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on our wedding day, and yes the groom is not allowed to see the bride before the wedding, as this brings misfortune. But the idea of marriage is far from being like that everywhere. The world is full of different cultures, so they also have their own specific wedding customs. Well, already in Slovenia there are many different ones that many people find strange, but wait until you hear about those beyond our borders.

Relatives or friends of Indian and Pakistani brides paint their hands and feet with ecstatic designs called menhdi before the wedding with vegetable henna dye. They are created for several hours (it is a social event, because meanwhile the girls happily cram) and last for several weeks.
Relatives or friends of Indian and Pakistani brides paint their hands and feet with ecstatic designs called menhdi before the wedding with vegetable henna dye. They are created for several hours (it is a social event, because meanwhile the girls happily cram) and last for several weeks.

Not all brides dream of a snow-white wedding dress with a long pull. Some dream of red (in Chinese culture, red represents a strong and happy color, but there it is only the first in a series of three dresses - followed by white and any color). In some places too they don't throw rice but dates and chestnuts (namely, among Koreans, dates symbolize girls, and chestnuts symbolize boys, and newlyweds catch them in a silk tablecloth, and the more you catch, the more children you will have). And if Jews break glass (at the end of the ceremony, the Jewish groom steps on the glass and breaks it, and the guests then exclaim Mazel Tov or "Happy" in our opinion), some black Americans they are skipping brooms (the tradition comes from Celtic culture). They are even more bizarre in Scotland, where they are the guests of the bride and groom on the most beautiful day of their lives they throw garbage, rotten vegetables and fruits and pour scum on it as if it were the last garbage on this planet. And as if that wasn't enough, on the night before the wedding, a friend's bride-to-be instead of wearing make-up for a disco party smeared with sour milk, rotten fish and tar and sprinkle it with feathers.

A Scottish wedding.
A Scottish wedding.

They go even further in the north of the island of Borneo, where the newlyweds are not allowed to use the toilet for three days after the wedding, which is protected during this time by members of their family. This should guarantee them a long and happy marriage with many offspring.

Why do we put the ring on the ring finger?
Why do we put the ring on the ring finger?
Another point of interest, which has nothing to do with bizarreness. Do you know why we wear rings on our rings? It was once believed that venous blood flows from this finger to the heart, which is why they gave it the name Vena Amori, or A vein of love. And it was this connection (heart-ring) that established this tradition. Learn about other unusual wedding customs and traditions that we Slovenians are not familiar with in the infographic below.

Little known facts about marriage and wedding customs.
Little known facts about marriage and wedding customs.

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