Indian Weddings
Traditional Indian Weddings When it comes to weddings in India, people celebrate in extravagant by creating a grand affair. The marriage ceremony begins and ends with various traditional rituals and it is accompanied by plenty entertainment, food, colorful clothing, music and dance. Although, Indian weddings vary from region to religion, they take hold of similar traditions. Traditionally in India, marriages are arranged between the groom’s and bride’s parents depending in the caste one is in. Also they use horoscopes to check if the couple is compatible but nowadays and in urban areas the couple actually tries to go out to meet each other and check if they have the same interests (Mukherjee). Times have changed and the young people are getting married for love instead by their parents. It used to be that the groom and bride did not see each other until the day of their marriage. Months before the wedding, a ceremony called Mangni or Nischitartham, depending in the region, takes place to make the engagement official. This ceremony is very live and vibrant. The elders of the couple’s family bless them and they receive gifts from their new family. The day of the wedding is often chosen based on the horoscope to find an auspicious date. The period between the engagement and the wedding is time full of anticipation and excitement along with fun activities with both families to get to know each other and bond for preparation of the wedding. The traditional Indian weddings last about a week. The pre-wedding ceremonies include various rituals done before the day of the actual wedding. One traditional custom is Haldi, where the bride and groom are given a holy bath of oil and water given by a married woman. This is followed by Mehendi ceremony, where the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with elaborate patterns with Henna.This is usually an all woman celebration. It is believed that the darker the paint is the stronger the love of the groom for the bride
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