About the Customs
Before the Wedding
There are too many pre-wedding traditions to list here, but one of our favorites is the Krevati (the Making of the Bed). This is usually held two days before the wedding (but we're having our Krevati before we leave NYC for the wedding) and it's a big gathering of the two families, relatives and friends. Lots of eating and drinking is of course customary, after which two young unmarried girls make up the couple's bed with new linens (similar to the tradition of throwing the bride's bouquet, it is believed that the first girl to get a pillowcase on will get married soon). Then all the people present throw rice and gold coins on the bed to make the marriage prosperous. After the bed has been showered with money, babies and young children are rolled on the bed as a blessing that the couple have many children. So for those of you with baby boys, plan on bringing them over next July so we can throw them on our bed!
The Bride's Shoes
A few hours before the wedding ceremony begins the groom sends his friends or male members of his family to deliver the shoes to the bride. When the shoes are placed on her feet, the bride pretends that they are too big...so the shoes are filled with money to make them fit. The money placed in her shoes is said to bring the couple luck and good fortune.
After she is fitted with the shoes the bride writes the name of all the single female wedding guests on their soles. As the bride walks and dances the night away the names are rubbed off...the single women whose names are worn off by the end of the night are said to be the next to marry.
The Wedding Favors
The sugar coated almonds (koufeta), which were placed on the tray with the crowns and which will later be offered to the guests are also symbolic. In the early days of the Church, honey dipped almonds were offered to the newlyweds by the priest. The white symbolizes purity. The egg shape represents fertility and the new life which begins with marriage. The hardness of the almond represents the endurance of marriage and the sweetness of the sugar symbolizes the sweetness of future life. The odd number of almond is indivisible, just as the bride and the groom shall remain undivided.
Passing out the Koulouri
A tradition that is common Peter's area is that a piece of sweet bread (Koulouri) is handed out to guests at the end of the ceremony. Koulouri is a traditional wedding bread, shaped like a ring, and it symbolizes a sweet life for the couple.
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