Russian Marriage Traditions!

The past few years have seen a change in the Russian family structure. It has been on the decline and becoming liberal in nature. This is even truer when it comes to sons and daughters marrying. It used to be a natural thing for couples to ask permission from their parents for marriage. However, times have changed. How has it changed?

These days, a mail order bride is quite common. Yet, in spite of this mail order bride change, there are traditions in a Russian marriage ceremony that should be followed although some of these "older" traditions have changed too.

You are likely to find a Russian marriage an experience to remember. Regardless of how you meet your Russian bride whether in school or by mail order, you should know and understand the Russian culture, past and present and even future.

It was once tradition that brides and grooms were betrothed at a young age by their parents. Why did parents do this sort of thing? It was so the children could learn of each other (their likes and dislikes) before the marriage. Up until the 1960s, this tradition was never second guessed and followed religiously.

It was not until the Americans introduced their hippy concept that this "betrothed" tradition was altered. Even parents who were betrothed were swayed by the concept and allowed their children to date. However, it only went so far as to meeting the opposite sex. Any type of sexual relationship before marriage was strictly prohibited and therefore was illegal. If a couple was found to have had sex, they usually faced severe penalties.

Both men and women enjoyed the new tradition of getting to know their partners before they were to be married. Grooms were able to know the girl's family before he proposed to her. After a proposal is made, it is in the hand of the bride's father to accept or reject it. If he accepts, the woman kneads bread and takes it to the man's parents. By doing this, it shows the groom's parents that she has the ability to become a good wife and respects his family as well.

It is not considered as unpleasant or disgusting to purchase a bride. Even today, there is a demand and it is seen as tradition rather than a trade. How it works: a man places his bid for the woman he likes and wants to make his wife. A man will offer money or presents to her family. It is the way to show his "prospective" in-laws that he is worthy enough to take care of their daughter.

Should the woman's family refuse the proposal, despite all the "prospective" groom has shown, it was seen has a challenge. This tradition was called stealing and though it sounds ludicrous today, some see it as a profession to steal girls. An idea was well thought out to trick the bride's family.

A man who decides to marry a Russian girl must pay his bride, her family and friends but this cannot be done without her help. After the marriage, she will elope with her groom at midnight. This is an exciting tradition in Russia. It demonstrates that the bride has left all she loved behind including her mother, her father, her family and friends for everything that her groom will give her including love and passion.

Another Russian tradition you should know is the vow that you will make in front of God after you have married. Marriages in Russia do not sign a paper and you are married like they do in America. Religion carries a much more importance in the couple's life. Thus, it shows in their lives. Vowing the marriage before God represents that you and your bride are not marrying for money but for love and passion.

The traditional ceremony will take approximately 30 to 40 minutes. However, in some parts of the country, the ceremony can take anywhere from four to five hours. These religious ceremonies are arranged to for God to give his (or her) blessing and the couples will pray to God for a long and happy marriage. Once the ceremony is completed, the wedding guests will move to restaurants or the bride's home for the wedding reception. Here, there is lots of drinking, food, happiness and dancing to celebrate the couple's union.

Now that you know about the Russian marriage traditions, you are bound to have a joyful experience with your Russian spouse. It is an experience to marry a woman from this religious country.

Keywords: