Unusual Wedding Traditions from Around the World

This world is a vast expanse of cultures, traditions and habits. From good times to bad there are traditions surrounding almost everything in the world such as weddings. Baaghi TV brings for you a variety of such traditions from around the world. Some may surprise you for being unusual while others may remind you of rituals you may have heard of or seen before.

China:

China has a very rich and ancient culture seeped in traditions however, when it comes to weddings even China can have some pretty unusual traditions. In some parts of China they have this custom of having a crying month, where the bride and her family have to cry for an hour or more everyday to signify that they are happy with the upcoming wedding nuptials. This month finishes with the bride singing a ‘crying song on her wedding. The bride is even judged to see how well she performs this song.

Another fascinating tradition in the Chinese culture is that of shooting the bride. According to Wedded Wonderland, the groom must shoot three arrows at his wife-to-be and then break those arrows in half. After the groom breaks the arrows he must bury them under the ground to ensure that their love and marriage last forever.

The next tradition is a bit extreme, however, it is very rare. According to this tradition the bride must have her shaved off keeping intact only a single lock of hair to symbolize purity, cleanliness and beauty.

France:

While France is usually known for the Eiffel tower and Paris, people hardly if ever, know what kind of traditions the French follow when it comes to weddings. One very interesting ritual is to marry in a public place specifically, the local town hall because the french prefer to marry in open places. The reason behind this is believed to be for assistance of any who wish to object to the wedding in question.

Another very interesting and rather annoying one is also relatively new. Post-ceremony, members of the wedding party honk the horns of their cars all the way to the reception venue.

None the less, there is one tradition followed by the French that is so unusual you would wish it to be untrue. The tradition of drinking out of a chamber pot. The bride and groom on their wedding night are presented with a chamber pot filled with all sorts of assortments. It can contain a mirage of things such as leftover alcohol from the wedding reception to chocolate, fruits and even toilet paper. As per tradition, the couple must finish this assortment soup.

Pakistan:

Pakistan has a rich culture seeping in its traditions from the Sindhi to Balochi, Punjabi to Pathan, there are so many rituals surrounding a wedding which must be kept in mind. Such as the ritual of ‘paondhulai’. According to Sindhi tradition, the bride’s brother washes the feet of the bride and groom as a way to welcome new beginnings with sincerity and purity.

The Balochi people have this tradition of a seven day long wedding. They use these days to prepare for the wedding by carrying out a ‘rice cleaning’ activity. The women from both the bride and groom’s side of the family gather to clean rice which are then used for the final lunch/dinner of the wedding.

This other one known as ‘doodh pilayi’ is usually a hot favorite. The bride’s side of the family offers a glass of milk to the groom and bride for them to drink. This tradition symbolizes growing love between the couple as “sharing is caring”. The bride’s family asks for money in return for providing the milk.

Another interesting tradition in Pakistan is that of ‘kheer chatayi’. It is usually followed by Punjabi families. Traditionally a spoonful of kheer [rice pudding] is placed on the bride’s hand which is supposed to be licked off by the groom. However, it is not that simple. The groom must lick it before his brothers/cousins can do it. While some may consider it fun, others may believe it to be somewhat unusual.

India: 

Many Indian and Pakistani wedding traditions tend to be similar considering they shared a homeland for some 1000 plus years.

For instance, the ‘joota chupayi’ [this one is also done in Pakistan]. The bride’s sisters and cousins hide the grooms shoes and demand money from him to get his shoes back. This involves both the families as the grooms side attempts to protect his shoes and the brides family tries to steal and hide them.

Scotland:

Traditionally, few days before the wedding, the Scottish people carry out the ritual of ‘blackening’ of the bride. The bride and sometimes even the groom, is captured friends and family, and covered in things such as beer, treacle, spoiled fish, feathers and even flour. Once the blackening is complete they are paraded around the streets for everyone to see. The idea being that if they can survive this they can get through any difficult times in their married life.

Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for more updates.