Weddings From Two Different Cultures Theology Religion Essay

Irish Weddings and German Weddings. There are many similarities when it comes to having a wedding in these two different traditions. The similarities are that both of the weddings will have flowers though the flowers will be use differently in each of the wedding because both wedding and the flowers symbolize a certain religious thought. The Irish use the flowers for the brides to wear in their hair and the German’s use the flowers to decorate the top of the wedding car. I think that both of these traditions use flowers in a way that are similar because each bride will usually wear the flowers on her head or have a bouquet.

The next similar item that is in the wedding is the music that is being played. Each wedding tradition has some sort of music that is playing though the music that is playing is different because of the background but music is a way to have fun and dance and both Irish and German wedding do agree on a large part. The music will usually play at the reception to awake the party and celebrate the new bride and groom. There is usually different customs when it comes to a wedding whether is being a normal style type like I would have that would take place in a church. It is different for each of these traditions. The Irish will get married in a church as a German will get married on a outside alter to show grace of becoming one. I think that when getting married it is nice to stick to your religion as close as possible because if done means that the groom and bride will have a long happy marriage. I know that some brides and grooms come from a different background sometimes when getting married, so if this was to happen both of the couple background religion should somehow be part of the wedding to make both of them feel important.

The customs of each wedding differ for each tradition and certain traditions are supposed to be followed. The Irish believe that is it unlucky if a class or cup were broken on the wedding day and to the German wedding tradition it was a good thing if a plate or dish was smashed because it would suppose to bring good luck to the bride. This is different and was thinking about what if an Irish and German were getting married and they were trying to follow the traditions of each bride and groom and the plate smashing meant something different would they still follow this step?.

Get Help With Your Essay

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Find out more about our Essay Writing Service

The second custom that I thought was different was who is going to pay for the wedding. This has to be the most important part of each wedding and figuring out who is going to be able to make the day happen. In an Irish wedding the bride and groom’s parents would split the cost of the wedding to make it even among the families. In a German wedding the father of the bride is suppose to pay for the wedding. In my religion usually both the parents of the groom and bride pay for the wedding and this has some similarities to an Irish wedding.

When it comes to customs each type of wedding has its own that the bride and groom try to add to the wedding to make sure that it is the most important day of their lives and usually is for all. I think that there are many things to think about when it comes to a wedding and all the superstitions that you may have to think about. I know that these are certain things people don’t think about when getting married but they are most assumed in a wedding. I know for a fact that in an Irish wedding and in a German wedding the superstitions do take place and are thought of before the wedding is sat up. These superstitions consist of what days it is good to get married on and what roads to travel on the way to the church. I know that in an Irish wedding it is unlucky to marry on a Saturday and people that are married in harvest would spend all their living being happy. There are also says about the bride and groom washing their hands together which mean that they are counting on a disaster to happen and also you are suppose to travel the longest road on the way to the wedding. In a German wedding there are really no superstitions that have a high affect on the wedding but only tricks that the bride and grooms friends play on them after they are married. Like for example for the first night they pull pranks on them like taking the bed apart or even filling the room with balloons. The bride takes a large amount of attention when it comes to each of these weddings and what takes place in the wedding is mostly up to the bride or who is paying for the wedding. There are things that happen on each day leading up to the wedding that follow the way a wedding is suppose to be held. In a German wedding there is usually three days that take affect before the bride and groom gets married. The first day in a German wedding the couple is married by the justice of peace. The second days hold a big party that is called Polterabend. Polterabend means the evening with lots of broken porcelain. The porcelain is brought by the friends and relatives to smash in front of the bride and groom because it is a symbol of a happy and luck life. The traditions are mostly drawn on the bride and grooms cultural and ethnic backgrounds and it helps them include the traditions and customs into their wedding.

The one important thing that should be pointed out among these two wedding traditions is the colors that are used in the wedding and why they are used and the meaning behind them. In an Irish wedding the color green is used in a lot of weddings because of Ireland’s nickname Emerald Isle. The color green is also used because of the shamrock. The shamrock is the used for luck in a wedding and lifelong happiness and are usually carried by the groom in the wedding.

The honeymoon must be the most important part that takes place after the couple is married. The honeymoon for an Irish wedding is way different from the traditional wedding that is held among people getting married. I can say that for a traditional wedding the bride and groom usually take a trip to spend time together because of their happy day that took place and also have some alone time. In an Irish honeymoon the newlyweds spend a month together drinking honeyed wine secluded so that they families cannot separate them. This also took place so that the couple could elope and the belief was that after a month had passed the bride would become pregnant and her family would then have no choice of the wife to stay with her new husband. The German wedding tradition is pointed back at a regular traditional wedding. There are so many things that can be pointed out between these two different cultural weddings that take place between the marriage and also after the wedding.

There are many traditions that take place among a wedding taking place that will be followed to make sure that the wedding goes the way it is suppose to. The impression that I have made when reading over these articles is that a German wedding is more typical wedding that I would have and an Irish wedding is more towards a religious status and is put together by steps that the bride and groom agree to. I know if my background was Irish I would think that our tradition weddings are nothing like theirs and different in so many ways from the customs to the way the marriage is held at the altar. The ceremonies in each of the wedding are different from one another and each have a certain amount of days it should take to throw a wedding. A German wedding take accordingly three days but not three full days and an Irish wedding is most of the times held for at least two day or even just one day at the most. The reason why an Irish wedding is held not that long is so the new couple can spend time together and celebrate the new beginning of life and their talk about what their future hold for them. I think that each wedding whether it be a traditional wedding always has some kind of religious background to it whether is it showed at the wedding or not it is still acquired about each the bride and the groom.

I have stated that the ceremonies are mostly different among the wedding and the religious backgrounds or the bride and groom. The ceremony in an Irish wedding many couples want to incorporate Irish blessings and toasts into their ceremony. These blessings wish prosperity and luck on the couple. In a German wedding ceremony on the third day the wedding takes place and the bride and groom take their vows while on their knees and the groom might kneel on the brides dress to show who is going to be in charge in the relationship though the bride may do it right back. When the bride and groom they throw coins to the children watching which is different among any other cultural wedding.

I have been too many weddings throughout my life time and can tell you the one that I have went to are the traditional weddings. They consist of music, dancing, drinking, games, and just all out fun while celebrating the marriage of two people and wishing them well. I can tell you in different parts of the world each wedding is different whether it is an Irish wedding, German wedding, Chinese wedding, Dutch wedding, and Greek wedding. All the wedding have some type of background and tradition that is followed throughout the ceremony. The traditions of each wedding can consist of religious thinking and saying grace towards the couple that is getting married to make sure that they have a long happy life and a healthy marriage. The traditions and customs of a wedding can rely on the background of the bride and groom like in a Dutch wedding. The custom is that there is a lovely tree branch that is placed next to the bride and grooms table and the guests write their special wish for the couple on the paper leaves that are attached to the branch. In a Greek wedding the mother of the bride spends years collecting household items for the daughter’s dowry. The customs in a Chinese wedding are different than all of the others above because they pick the wedding date according to the astrological signs and birthdates of the bride and groom and the ceremony being on the half hours to wish good fortune to the couple.

I can stay that if you have a different religion than an American then it has to be interesting when getting married. I think that certain ceremonies have more thought put into them as I read though a lot of different types of wedding and how the ceremony is thrown to make sure that all is blessed and the marriage will be a success. I can say that not everyone has a wedding that follows the traditional wedding and some don’t make a big deal about the deal the wed. I myself think it is a big deal because you are closing vowels that going to spend the rest of your life with the person next to you whether that works out is all up to how much each of the partners put into the relationship. I think that honesty and being opened about thoughts will make a marriage last because if you are honest and true then there is nothing that needs to closed behind a door and forgot about.

I can say that I thought about what wedding traditions to do and what would be the most interesting ones to choose from and give a reason why and I have to say that my attitude towards how different wedding are from the way a American wedding is held is really not thought about. I think that I had no idea how many customs an Irish and German wedding would have involved when thinking about getting married and what steps need to be followed. I just thought that everything should fall into place and work out to the best if the people are meant to together and never looked behind the process it takes to setting up wedding and how some cultures take wedding more serious than other due to the parents are giving up either their daughter or son that is getting married. Some take this memory as a happy one and hope and wish that all is well for the couple on their journey to the next level and their future. The parents I think before the couple make arrangement to get married are able to care for themselves and able to support a family because later on in the future there will be the thought of a child being born with then will be a new journey in the newlyweds lives. I think that once the husband and wife have a child it will show how much they are in love and how much they are committed to the relationship and how well each will be able to support one another. I think that it takes a long time to find the right person to marry and more than a couple years to find out if your going out with the same person. I say that if you are going out with the same person for over six years that still may not be the person that you want to marry and may be only a really good friend that you like being with but may not want to be hooked to for the rest of your life or live your life’s together but usually things like this will be figured out among both of the partners and how well they can work together in a relationship.

I can say that I have learned a lot about how different cultures set up weddings and how serious they take them. I know that it is a big day and a life changer so it would be the smart idea or make the right decision and if you are happy with someone for a while well they you may have found the person who you are suppose to spend the rest of your life with.

Citations

Irish Wedding Traditions. Bridget Haggerty; http://www.ireland-information.com/articles/irishweddingtraditions.htm

Walking Down the Aisle: Wedding Traditions from Germany. Tatyana Gordeeva; 1998-2009; http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/weekly/aa030601a.htm

German Wedding Traditions. http://www.personal.psu.edu/jld345/German.html

German Wedding Traditions, Part 1.” German Culture. 2004. Tatyana Gordeeva. 14 Mar. 2005 http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/weekly/aa030601a.htm

Irish Wedding Customs and Traditions, Hudson Valley Weddings. http://www.hudsonvalleyweddings.com/guide/irish.htm

Irish Wedding Traditions, Euroevents & Travel, LLC. http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/west_europe_traditions/irish_traditions.html

German Wedding Traditions, Euroevents & Travel, LLC. http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/west_europe_traditions/german_traditions.html

Cultural Wedding Traditions and Customs, Beau-coup Favors, Inc. 2010 http://www.beau-coup.com/cultural-traditions-weddings.htm