| Browse by article: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9 |
Baltic Wedding Traditions.
Marriage traditions have change a great deal over the centuries in most of the Baltic countries. For example, in the 16th century the minimum age for marriage through much of the Baltic region was 14 for boys and 13 for girls. Today the legal age for marriage without parental consent ranges between 18 and 21, depending on the country.
Today young couples from large cities often opt for an American or British-style of wedding, but in the rural country areas the more traditional ceremonies are still observed.
The father’s blessing must be obtained before the marriage can proceed.
Young men, for example, often ask a friend or a relative to discretely discover if a young woman is likely to say “Yes” to a proposal before he actually asks the question. If word comes back that the young lady is inclined to say yes, then the young man will go to the girl’s father and ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If the father agrees and the young woman actually does say “Yes” when the proposal is made, then the wedding may proceed.
A young couple who get married with the blessing of the girl’s father can expect no dowry, no inheritance and no help of any kind from the bride’s parents.
An important part of the engagement in much of the Baltic is the buying and exchanging of the engagement rings and silk scarves. In some parts of the Baltic the exchange of the engagement rings is considered a binding legal agreement to go forward with the wedding.
The publishing of the marriage Banns
Once the girl agrees to the marriage the marriage “banns,” or proposal, must be published and posted at the local church where the wedding is to be held and the priest announces the engagement to the congregation. Traditionally an engagement in the Baltic area is six months.
Very often the bride-to-be spent a week at the groom’s parent’s home, helping with the cooking and the cleaning and the housework so that the groom’s mother could see if she would make a fit wife for her son.
A hundred years ago it was customary for the bride to wear a black wedding dress in much of the Baltic region, but today brides wear a white dress and a veil, often with a small silver crown. In a traditional wedding it is often customary for the bride and groom to be seated during the ceremony and for the bridesmaids to hold a either a red ir a white canopy above the heads of the young couple.
At the conclusion of the ceremony the young couple exchange wedding rings and there is the traditional kissing of the bride, during which the young couple exchange portions of their souls.
And then we feast!
The feast following the wedding is a time for rejoicing. There is a great deal of music, dancing, and toasting of the new couple. In many parts of the Baltic a wedding feast would last for as long as eight hours. Traditionally the first dance is danced by the bride and groom and is followed by all of the single men dancing with the bride; often there is a token payment for the dance with the money used for the bride and groom’s honeymoon. Often there is also a collection for the village poor as well.
On the second day following the wedding it was sometimes customary for the young bride to be seated and to have a small child placed in her lap. She was then told “to make one of her own.”
The answer is…romance!
During the 60s and 70s many young couples in the Baltic opted for a civil wedding without all the trappings of ancient custom, but recently there has been a revival of the ancient traditions even in the cities. Why the revival of old traditions and customs? There are many guesses.
Perhaps the answer is as simple as a revival of romance!
[ Back to "Wedding Traditions" page ]