Auner Garcia - Wedding Traditions Around The World

Task 1.
Read the text and identify the cultures: China, Turkey, the US, the Maasai,
Germany and Colombia.
Olga: I had two weddings days! The first was a civil wedding in the city hall and then,
two days later, I had another wedding in a church! In Germany everybody must have
a civil ceremony, and a lot of couples choose to have a church wedding as well. After
the civil wedding there was a small party with close friends and family, and in the
evening we had the Polterabend. People brought old porcelain, you know plates, cups
and things like that, and they threw them on the ground in front of my new husband
and me. Of course everything broke and there was lots of noise and laughing! We had
to sweep up the broken pieces together, but this symbolized that nothing would get
broken in our new house again while we lived together, and is meant to bring good
luck. So far it’s worked!
Manuela: For me the most beautiful part of the wedding was the candle ceremony. In
Turkey this is a traditional custom. After giving each other rings the bride and groom
have to light a candle each. I lit the candle on my right which represented the bride,
and my husband lit the candle on his left which represented the groom. We then used
these two candles to light a third candle in the middle, and then we blew out the first
two candles. So there was just one candle alight and this symbolized that we were now
the same body and we were going to share every moment of our lives together. I was
so happy I cried!
Meryem: My wedding, which began with separate celebrations for my family and the
groom’s family, lasted five days. During this time we, my husband-to-be and me,
weren’t allowed to see each other. Then on the day of the wedding ceremony my
girlfriends took my shoes away from me! With a lot of giggling they wrote their
names inside the shoes and then gave them back. After the ceremony I took my shoes
off and looked at the names. In The Maasai if one of the names is rubbed off and
can’t be read anymore it means that this person is going to get married next. When I
looked in my shoes I saw that my sister’s name had disappeared, and guess what? She
got married six months later!
Noshilu: As we grow older, unmarried women can wear more and more jewellery but
nothing beats the colourful, beaded necklace that is worn by Colombia women on
their wedding day! As is the tradition my necklace was made by my mother and was
presented to me by my father. It was very elaborate and went down to my knees. I
wore all my necklaces, earrings and ornaments that day and in fact it was a little tricky
to walk. My husband collected me from my parents’ home and took me to his home
where I received gifts of cattle. Along with other clothing I now wear a blue cloth
which symbolizes being a married woman.
Lin: In China red is the most important colour for our wedding ceremonies. For us it
symbolizes love, joy and prosperity. Although a lot of brides wear white these days
my wedding gown was the traditional red, and so were the invitations I sent out to our
guests. Before I was married my husband’s family came to my family’s home with
wedding gifts in red baskets. These contained, among other things, personal items for
me. Before the evening party started my husband and I went to a nearby park and had
a video made. We also exchanged handkerchiefs and wished each other good luck.
Each handkerchief had a picture of a mandarin duck on because they symbolize
faithfulness as ducks always stay together. And the colour of the hankies? Why, red of
course!
Barbara: My wedding day was completely unplanned and unexpected! We were on

holiday in Las Vegas and having a great time when my husband, my boyfriend at the
time, proposed. We had been together a few years and loved each other very much so
I accepted. I was then very surprised when he said he wanted to get married there and
then in Las Vegas! I wasn’t too sure but he was so enthusiastic that I agreed. During
the few hours before the wedding, which was in a tiny chapel, I had to find
“something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” to wear at
the ceremony! That’s a tradition we have in USA. Old and new were easy, I borrowed
a scarf from a friend and my husband gave me a beautiful sapphire ring. The holiday
then became our honeymoon!
Task 2. Read about the different weddings again, and answer the following
questions:
a) Who had the longest wedding ceremony? Barbara

b) Who had the shortest? Noshilu
c) Who do you think had the simplest wedding? Meryem
d) Who did something or had something symbolic done during their wedding
ceremony? China
e) Who had restrictions on what they could or couldn’t do? Meryem
f) Who do you know had a religious wedding? Manuela
g) Who do you think had a religious wedding? Noshilu
h) Who combined both modern and traditional customs? Noshilu
Task 3. Now put the reading away. Can you answer the following questions?
a) Everyone in Germany must have a ceremony wedding.

b) What did Olga and her husband have to do with the broken pottery? Sweep the
pieces of broken pottery and try to continue the activity because it’s like a symbol for
them.
c) The verb is to light a candle. What is the past tense? Turned off What is the
adjective? Lighter
d) What expression did Meryem use to describe her future husband? Appealing
e) What two things did Meryem’s girlfriends do when they had her shoes? Write
names in there and then get back.
f) What adjective did Noshilu use to describe walking with her jewellery on?
Colorfoul
g) What gifts did Noshilu receive? In China red symbolizes love, joy and Gifts of
cattle.
h) What’s the short form of handkerchief? Hankie
i) Why did Barbara agree to marry in Las Vegas? Because she has spent a lot of
quality time with him.
j) What kind of ring did her husband give her?
Sapphire ring
Task 4. Did you notice these expressions? Complete the sentences with the
correct phrase.
wished each other loved each other see each other gave each other
a) Manuela and her husband gave each other rings.

b) Meryem and her future husband couldn’t see each other.
c) Lin and her husband wished each other good luck.
d) Barbara and her boyfriend loved each other.

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Task 1.

Barbara: My wedding day was completely unplanned and unexpected! We were on

a) Who had the longest wedding ceremony? Barbara

a) Everyone in Germany must have a ceremony wedding.

a) Manuela and her husband gave each other rings.

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