Czech Wedding Traditions
The Czech Republic has many wonderful wedding traditions dating back through the ages and drawing on two distinct regions of the country, Bohemia and Moravia. MoravianWeddings would like to offer you a guide to some of those very unique Czech Wedding Traditions you may find yourself exposed to when choosing to marry in our beautiful country. Adhering to these customs can make a ceremony come to life and create the right atmosphere for immortalizing "your once in a lifetime dream wedding."
WEDDING TRADITIONS
Groom's test - There was a chopping block and axe and bottle of wine prepared for the groom at the threshold of the bride's house. If he took the axe it was a good sign - he would be a good houseman. If he decided for a bottle of wine, he would be a drunkard.
Bride's test - As she entered the groom's house for the first time there was a broom ready in the room and she had to sweep the room briskly and put it back to its place. She showed that she wanted to be a good housewife.
Protective magic - Friends throw nuts, grain, coins or figs outside the newly weds' house. It is not connected with children this time but it is a sacrifice for the gods of the house and home. The sacrifice should reconcile the gods with the new comers - with a new family.
Throwing flowers - Nieces of the bride and groom or daughters of their friends lead the wedding parade to the church and they scatter flowers before them. This is a pagan tradition too. Flowers attract the goddess of fertility.
Wedding guard of honor - Friends form an aisle for the newly weds to walk through. They try to make it difficult. Symbolic meaning: overcoming difficulties in marriage.
Pulling - After a wedding ceremony the groom's friends pull a rope outside a church. The rope is decorated with flowers, ribbons and also with empty bottles and they allow them to continue their journey if they are paid off by the groom. The groom has to pay off the sins of his youth.
Threshold - Why does the groom carry the bride over the threshold of their new home? It is said that he wants to outwit evil spirits who lurk under the threshold and take care of the house. Other meaning: symbolic beginning of a new life.
Circular dance - The bride dances with closed eyes and single girls try to get a bit of her veil (it is better to use a cheap veil for this occasion). Men form a protective circle around the bride to prevent the girls to get to her. If the circle is broken through, it symbolizes the farewell to innocence and virginity.
Kidnapping of the bride - This symbolizes the bride's separation from her parents and the beginning of a new partnership. Later, when the reception is almost over friends kidnap the bride. If the groom does not find her he has to pay a ransom. Note: Time limit should be set so wedding guests do not wait hours for the bride's return.
Bridesmaids - single girls who accompany the bride to church. This has a specific meaning: evil spirits who wanted to harm the bride would mistake her for the bridesmaid - this is why bridesmaids should have dresses similar with the bride's dress.
Inviting kolache - Traditionally these small buns are baked few weeks before the wedding. They are given to relatives, friends and neighbors as an invitation to the wedding reception. Kolache should have at least three fillings and are considered to show the culinary art of the housewife.
Longevity - The friends of a bride might plant a tree in her yard, then decorate it with colored ribbons and painted eggshells. Legend believed the bride would live as long as the tree.
Crown - The night before her wedding day, her friends would also give her a crown of rosemary to represent wisdom, love, loyalty and remembrance that she would wear on her wedding day. Today, wreaths of baby's breath and tiny roses are seen on the bride as well as her bridesmaids, a variation of the rosemary wreath. Before the marriage vows take place an infant is laid on the couple's bed, to bless and enhance their fertility.
Exiting Shower - At Czech weddings, wedding guests often throw peas, rather than rice, at the departing wedded couple.
Virtues - The bride-to-be is also given three covered dishes containing wheat for fertility, millet mixed with ashes that she must sift through to prove her patience, and the third hides a sparrow under the lid.
Union - At the Czech wedding reception, a plate is broken at the feet of the bride and groom and they must clean the pieces up together to promote the ability to work together in a healthy manner throughout their marriage.
Trust - At the wedding reception, the bride and groom are joined by being covered in a large towel symbolizing unity, and then finish a bowl of soup using one spoon to symbolize the melting of two souls into one and the trust that each will carry for reliance on the other in time of need.
Kolibka - Is among the many special dances performed at the wedding celebration. In this dance, the chief bridesmaid holds a plate in her arms as if it were a baby. Guests throw coins onto the plate to start a nest egg for the couple's future offspring.
