Romanian Marriage

Romanian Marriage

There is an old Romanian proverb that asks the question “What does the Romanian like?” And the answer is “Fresh bread, old wine and a young wife”.

Perhaps because life for the Romanian people has been a struggle throughout history, when there is cause for celebration, especially surrounding life’s essential moments like birth and marriage, the Romanians certainly know how to party. A typical Romanian marriage will last all night long, and in the past; the celebration would have lasted for as long as 3 days and nights!

Romanians typically marry quite young, often in their early twenties. Romanian girls however, begin preparing for their marriage at a very early age. Some are only six years old when they begin collecting and making accessories for their hope chests. In the mountains of Romania, an annual festival is held on June 29 for the families of young girls to get together and display their daughter’s trousseaus.

A Typical Romanian Marriage
Most Romanian marriages are held in the Fall because many of the foods served at the wedding feast are harvested at that time and prepared at home. The wine is also aged and plentiful in the Fall. No wedding feast is complete without much wine being consumed by all. It is not permitted to have weddings during the 40 days leading up to Christmas or Easter.

Some Romanian Traditions
Romanians are primarily Christians and their marriage ceremony is very similar to that of Christian marriages. They do, however, have several unique traditions of their own, such as the ones below:

• The groom’s parents must ask the bride’s parents permission for their son to wed their daughter

• At dawn, the bride is given a child to hold in her arms in hope that she will have a house full of children.

• When the bride and groom are about to enter their new home together, they are showered with grain as a sign of prosperity.