Armenian wedding: customs and traditions

An Armenian wedding is a very merry celebration of a huge scale. Such a wedding is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Of course, the modern celebration is already different from the event that was held several centuries ago, but still the spouses observe the basic traditions and customs. It is necessary to consider in more detail the peculiarities of holding a wedding among Armenians, as well as what are its differences from the celebrations of other peoples of the world.

Matchmaking is an irreplaceable stage that precedes the wedding celebration itself. Previously, matchmaking was compulsory, but today many young people adhere to this tradition. The bottom line is that the groom must inform the parents of the future bride about his intentions. To do this, a mediator or, as they call her, a matchmaker is sent to the girl's house. In Armenia, the mediator is called midnord kin. She can only be a woman from the groom's family. She must be respected, have a good position in society. Even the groom's mother can successfully cope with this role. It is very important that the matchmaker is known to the parents of the bride-to-be. Initially, the matchmaker comes without an open offer, she carefully and unobtrusively tries to find out the attitude of the parents of the future bride in general to marriage, as well as to the groom.

After the so-called preliminary matchmaking, matchmakers are sent to the parents of the future bride - relatives of the future groom. Only men participate in negotiations. The matchmakers tell the purpose of the visit and ask for permission from the father of the future bride to get married. The decision remains with the father, who can hint at both consent and refusal.The father does not have the right to immediately agree to the offer of the matchmakers, because it is believed that then he wants to marry his daughter as soon as possible. Only at the second meeting does the father directly express his consent, the conditions of the engagement are immediately discussed, which is the next step before the wedding itself.

Engagement is a pretty important step in pre-wedding preparation. It is after the engagement that the parents of the bride and groom begin to communicate closely, spend more time together, helping the young with the organization of the wedding. The engagement will take place on a pre-selected day. Parents of the future spouses gather at the groom's house, while his family is responsible for the treats. At the festive table, Armenian toasts are usually heard, in which guests wish the young a long and happy married life. But this feast does not last all day, since then everyone goes to visit the bride's parents, where a festive table is also waiting for them.

According to Armenian customs, the most important at the engagement is the planted father, or kavor. Usually the godfather of the groom or a worthy man from his family is invited to this role. It is the kavor who is honored to lead the bride with her friends to the table, at which the bride is presented with luxurious jewelry. After that, Kavor announces that now the future newlyweds are engaged, while the groom must decorate the ring finger on the left hand of his beloved with an exquisite ring with a pebble.

It is on the day of the engagement that it is customary to agree on the date of the wedding. It is discussed what the bride's dress will be, what attributes will be used during the wedding ceremony itself, while paying attention to the elements that are characteristic of an Armenian wedding. This day ends with another ceremony, during which the girls sing sad songs, because now the future bride needs to say goodbye to her father's house, since after the wedding she will move to the house of her future husband. It is accepted that the last melody sounds "Uzundara", and when it ends, the bride must leave the parental home.

Armenians adhere to traditions, especially when it comes to weddings. Preparation for this rather important and unique day also has several interesting customs and traditions.

• The bride's bride. After the engagement, the groom must again come to the bride's house, but not alone, but together with his relative. He must treat his beloved mother and sisters with various sweets. After that, the next morning, the future mother-in-law treats the neighbors' children with sweets, while she acts as a bride. If this tradition is respected, it means that now young people can openly see each other even before the wedding.
• Kyasum trill. This is another unusual but very interesting custom. Its essence lies in the fact that the parents of the bride and groom meet to discuss financial issues related to the wedding. It is worth discussing how many invitees there will be from each side.

When all traditions and customs are observed, the most important thing in preparation begins - the material stage. Organizers are usually hired for the organization. It is they who must find a room, purchase decor to decorate the entire celebration, draw up a menu for a banquet feast, send invitations to guests, and draw up a script for the celebration itself. They are necessarily responsible for organizing the wedding in the church, because it is there that the union is concluded at the Armenian wedding before the official wedding.

Most Armenian weddings take place in the fall or early winter. This period is the most favorable for this celebration, since the entire harvest has already been harvested, the young wine has already ripened. According to Armenian customs and traditions, the bride's relatives must bring the dress to the bride. On the day of the wedding, close friends and relatives of the groom, led by kavor, come to the bride's home - they take the bride from her father's house.This action is accompanied by noisy songs and cheerful music.

The groom, having come to the house of the future wife, presents her family with "blue" - these are various fruit dishes, goodies, alcoholic drinks, decorations and, of course, a dress for the bride. Kavorkin is the wife of Cavor, who also plays one of the important roles on the wedding day, because it is she who dresses the bride in a festive outfit. According to tradition, it is customary for Armenians to give gold jewelry and money to young people for a wedding. But on this day, gifts are received not only by the spouses. A large dish with traditional treats is received by the bride's mother.

Modern Armenian weddings are distinguished by great fun, it is customary to have fun and dance, sing wedding songs. But according to tradition, the mother of the bride does not participate in the dances, because she is saddened that her daughter has already grown up and is leaving her father's house. The dance of the bride and groom is not an important element and is rarely seen. The peculiarity of the Armenian wedding is that the bride dances with other guys on this day, which allows her to check her loyalty to her future husband. If a young woman behaves with dignity, not paying attention to other men, then she receives gifts from them.

After the official wedding, it is customary to greet a young family with honey, and lavash is thrown over their shoulders. This custom suggests that the life of the newlyweds will be sweet. It is also customary to sprinkle the spouses with flowers, sweets, grain and even nuts with raisins. Armenian toasts deserve special attention, because they are a real decoration of this unforgettable day. Armenian toasts are very beautiful, poetic, usually combined with various Armenian parables. The toasts use metaphors with the landscapes of the surrounding nature, because Armenia is a very beautiful country rich in unforgettable landscapes.

An official wedding is only half the battle, because all couples are bound to get married. This ceremony also has many traditions and customs. But the main thing is that during the wedding, no one goes through between the young. Usually, kavors follow this, because there are a lot of people at the wedding who are rather inattentive to this requirement. During the wedding, over the heads of the young, the kavor holds a scabbard and a sword crossed among themselves. It is believed that it is the metal that is able to protect a young family from various adversities.

According to tradition, the Armenian wedding is celebrated for three days. Usually, for a wedding celebration, it is customary to slaughter a bull, and use its meat to prepare various delicious dishes. On festive tables, there is always a barbecue, an abundance of fruits and herbs. On the wedding day, gold jewelry and, of course, money are presented. Usually the bride's mother collected the donated money for the wedding. It is worth noting an interesting tradition of giving, which consists in the fact that all gifts, except money, are given to relatives by the groom.

At an Armenian wedding, it is forbidden to say "bitterly" to young people after a toast, and this rule also applies to other nations. The main reason for the prohibition of "bitter" at a wedding is that it is ugly to show your feelings in front of everyone, especially since there has not even been the first wedding night.The bride is still innocent, so the groom can only kiss his beloved on the cheek after the wedding in the registry office. Usually each toast at the feast ends with the word "tush".

• Sending a dowry. According to this Armenian rite, the parents of the newly-made wife send all the gifts of the young to their home. Today this tradition is already more playful in nature.
• Washing the bride's head. After the wedding, the mother and daughter of the Armenians had no right to see each other. Only on the first Saturday after the wedding, the mother could come to her daughter to help her wash her hair, while she took shampoo and a comb with her.

• Making bonfires. This custom is still being carried out today. After the wedding, bonfires are lit, through which unmarried girls and boys jump to cheerful songs.
• Farewell to home. This ritual is more of a formality today, but many adhere to it. The father takes his daughter out of the house after the wedding, as she is now moving to live with her husband. The bride's father holds her hand and hands it over to her husband's father. Sad music is played during this celebration. The girl thanks her parents for everything, kisses their hands.

• Wedding night. According to tradition, there should be no one in the house where the young people will sleep. Relatives went to spend the night with friends. Only bridesmaids could eavesdrop at the door of the house. On the first night, the young were forbidden to shout. After the first night, the guy felt embarrassed, so he went to his friends, and only in the late afternoon did his parents bring him home. The bride had to prove her innocence, so after the first wedding night she showed the groom's family a bloody stain on the sheets. After that, they gave her silver coins and apples, and her mother - wine and chicken. If the wedding night went well, then several shots were fired into the air. But if the bride could not prove her innocence, then she had to go through a shameful ritual. They put her on a donkey, while backwards, and let the animal go down the main street of the village. Such a shame was seen by all the villagers.

For an overview of the Armenian wedding, see the next video.