Wedding Traditions From Around The World
Spring is on its way, and that means wedding season is fast approaching!
It’s February , we can already sense that the days are getting longer and shortly we’ll be celebrating one of America’s favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day. Soon after we treat ourselves and our sweethearts to this wonderful celebration, we’ll find ourselves in March, enjoying the transition to Spring with almost a quarter of the new year behind us. Spring means so many different things to each of us, but one thing common around the world is that Spring is wedding season! Here are a few fun facts and some useful information about wedding traditions around the world.
Five Fun Wedding Facts From Around The World
• Columbia has a very touching tradition: after the couple has exchanged the rings, each of them lights up a candle. They then light up a third candle together and blow out their individual candles. This symbolizes togetherness.
• Ever heard of Polterabend? It’s the celebration of a soon to be married couple a few days before the wedding when their friends and family smash porcelain in front of them. The German proverb “Scherben bringen Glueck” is behind this tradition which translates to “Broken crockery brings you luck”. Just don’t smash everything in your cupboard 🙂
• This is interesting: In Kenya, after the first month of marriage it is custom that the groom wears his bride’s clothes so that he can thoroughly understand and appreciate the challenges of being a woman in their society.
• In Russia, brides are held for “ransom”. The Russian groom has to perform a number of silly tasks at the bride’s home while her friends and family jokingly refuse to allow him to see her until he has satisfied them all with his efforts.
• And last but certainly not least: In England it’s considered good luck if a spider is found in the wedding dress!
Click here for more Wedding Traditions Across the World
Three Styles of Wedding Jewelry From Around the World
• Ireland: The Claddagh ring features a a heart with a crown atop it and clasping hands on each side. When worn on the right hand with the heart facing outward, it signifies that your heart has not been won. But worn with the heart facing inward, it shows the world that love and commitment is under consideration. And worn on the left hand with the heart facing inward indicates that two loves have joined forever.
• Turkey: The Turkish Puzzle Ring is believed to have originated 2000 years ago and was used to test whether a wife was loyal. These rings are made with up to 12 oddly-shaped, interconnecting rings that when taken off the finger were extremely difficult to reassemble in the proper sequence.
• America: Black Hills Gold wedding jewelry, of course! Though Black Hills Gold wedding rings have been popular in the west for many years, they have gained national popularity in recent years as people are looking for quality, American-made wedding rings that embody the history of our great nation. Landstroms has been making quality wedding jewelry for over 100 years.
There are many materials to choose from for the one wedding ring that will mark your long-lasting relationship with your loved one. Some metals certainly offer themselves as a more durable choice than others, and cost is obviously is a factor, too. But we believe that gold is still the best choice when it comes to a wedding band.
But silver wedding rings do offer a more contemporary look, they’re more affordable than gold and our Black Hills Silver wedding rings feature 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves as well, so the tradition of wedding ring gold is retained.
Whether the choice is gold or silver, the beauty and shine of a diamond in a wedding or engagement ring will ensure lasting beauty. Landstroms offers only the finest gold and sterling silver for their hand-made engagement and wedding jewelry, but over time, as the gold and silver wears, the diamond will maintain the same look as it had that very first day.
