When you have a wedding, what kind of tradition do you have in your culture?
In Japan, relatives, friends, co-workers (you sometimes invite co-workers to
your wedding, if you have good relationship) gives money when they come to
the wedding celemony hall. It is called Syuugi 祝儀 しゅうぎ.
The Syuugi is finantial surpport for the couple. I have heard that each people
send 30000 yen for the couple in average. It is said that the bill should be an odd number when it is happy event.
3 comments:
With the risk of making this comment too long, I'll write about two traditions in Bulgaria :)
The first one is disappearing now - it was an old tradition, observed at old-style weddings. There is an old folkdance called "булчинско хоро" - people dance in a line, holding each other by the hands. The typical about this one, in particular is that it is started by the bride and the best man at the wedding, and she is always at the lead. Then people are joining one after the other, but in order to join, they attach a money bill to the dress of the bride, and then they cut into the dance - always next to the bride. This way, the bride is always at the lead, the best man is always at the end and each guest has the chance to dance next to the bride once for as long as a new guest joins. By the end of the dance, the gown of the bride is covered with money bills. (this ruins of course the gown, but does it really matter - she will not wear it again ever)
Another tradition is still alive - it is not Bulgarian, but gypsy (you know, in Bulgaria, there is a big gypsy population). Now they have the tradition of "buying" their brides - the man's family gives the woman's family a substantial ammount of money. So, at the wedding (that lasts 3 days, by the way) all guests donate money by "bying music" - there is a life orchestra and in order for it to play, somebody has to order each song - and pay for it :)
The momey gathered that way go to the new family (indirectly to the man's family, since the young family lives in the man's house)
Imagine how much money are gathered when the music plays most of the time for 3 days straight :)
As for who we invite - in old times it was almost everybody you know - family and far relatives, friends, coleagues of the parents and the young... but now, Bulgaria is in a very difficult financial situation, so the weddings get smaller.
Um, thank you for bringing up this subject - I am smiling when I am thinking back at all those memories :)
Um, I tried to find the dance that I was talking about on youtube, but could not O_O
Here is a typical traditional Bulgarian "horo" dance (in this case danced on a wedding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I_no7NXVuA&list=TLOzl4jwDe7R0
Bulgarian culture is very different from Japanese, isn't it?
Shantal ForSD
I have never seen this dance
before.
I think Japanese don't
dance when they are happy.
We don't have such culture, maybe.
If they are at the festival,
they may dance. But most of the dance is quiet, I think.
Thanks for sharing!
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