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Some Things You Must Know On Ukrainian Marriage Traditions

Ukraine is one country that is steeped in traditions, including wedding traditions, which are fun and in many respects serious as well.

First of all I want to mention that even though for many women, in some countries marriage has greatly devalued and they do not seek anymore to marry or keep marriage traditions, in Ukraine lots of ladies still take it seriously and make it one of the top priorities in their lives.

Having marriage as top priority only means that Ukrainian women tend to keep Ukrainian marriage traditions from both sides of the spectrum - from the contemporary traditions to the historical, with the religious traditions in-between. But to make your marriage to a Ukrainian woman official, you need to register the marriage in State Registry offices, which are the only agencies appointed to make marriages legal.

The procedure of registering with the State Registry was handed down from Soviet times. During that time many new traditions and rules were forced on the Ukrainians. These days, however, most Ukrainians are returning to national traditions as well as religious ones.

Thus, when you get married in Ukraine, you have no choice but to get married at a State Registry office. But you do have the option to keep some of the traditions and choose the kind of wedding celebration you are going to have in consonance with the official State Registry wedding. You can go through the motions of a separate church or secular wedding and pick up a mix of folk and religious wedding traditions along the way.

Tradition typically mixes with officialdom during an official wedding ceremony at a State Registry office. Apart from exchanging rings and drinking the champagne, a newly wedded couple is presented with salt and a round loaf of white bread. The couple then takes a piece of the bread, dip it in salt and eat it. The rest of the loaf is crushed on the floor, the more pieces there are, the better. This tradition symbolizes a happy married life.

Going out of the ceremony hall, the couple then has to step on a nicely decorated towel, and whoever steps on it first is believed to be the man of the house, regardless if it is the wife who first stepped on it.

As to the secular marriage celebration, there is a tradition to invite many guests and to set up a big table loaded with food and drinks. As a rule, Ukrainian weddings are loud and crowded. People come there to have much fun. One of the most common wedding traditions is stealing the bride or her shoe. The bridegroom and his best man have to pay the bride a price or ransom to return his treasure. Sometimes the price is paid in money; it also can be paid by accomplishing various funny tasks or drinking champagne or vodka from the bride's shoe.

These are just a few and the most of common of Ukraine's wedding traditions. If you are keen on marrying a Ukrainian lady, join in the fun by keeping up with tradition. You honor your wife's relatives that way. That some people in the Ukraine take their traditions very seriously is one more reason to go with tradition.

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