Recently, young people began to show a genuine interest in the old traditions of Slavic weddings. The original and largely unique customs of the ancestors are often quite organically woven into modern marriages.
A wedding is an incredibly important event in the life of every person that requires careful preparation and marks a new stage in the life and relationship of lovers. The ancestors with due reverence and awe belonged to this event, and therefore there is no surprise the attractiveness of the traditions of the Slavic wedding for the betrothal today.
Traditions, Customs and Rites
The ancient Slavs considered the creation of a family to be one of the most crucial stages of their life, relying on the mercy of fate and favor from above. The word “wedding” consisted of three parts, fully expressing the attitude of ancestors to this event: “sva” means heaven, “e” means earthly deed, and “ba” means blessed by the gods. This decoding could be formulated as “an earthly deed blessed by the gods in heaven.” The statement also determined the character of all the ancient rites at the Slavic wedding.
The union of two people has always been traditionally associated with procreation, and the birth of children is strongly encouraged. In connection with this, the ancient Slavs gradually formed several restrictions and prohibitions for candidates for potential bride and groom. The age limit for the newlyweds was very reasonable: the young man must be over 21 years old, and the girl must be 16 years old. For well-known reasons, the family of the groom and the family of the bride should not have crossed too closely.
It is a popular misconception that young people were often married together against their will. In fact, the traditions of the Slavic wedding assumed a special, harmonious relationship between the newlyweds. It was believed that life itself and the gods sent them into each other's arms.
If we talk about old Slavonic traditions and customs, then to date they have been repeatedly changed due to constant resettlement and wars. The birth of Christianity in Russia marked a change in wedding ceremonies, the wedding began to be held in the church, and the blessing of young gods on the temple was forgotten as one of many pagan traditions.
Stylistics and symbolism
The Slavic wedding style was based on the idea of unity with nature and respect for traditions. Clothing and surroundings did not imply excesses and frills of modern wedding celebrations, nor exuded excessive pathos and template style. The atmosphere, as a rule, is maintained in the Old Russian manner. Decorating the venue of the festival with as many natural elements as possible and the absence of synthetic and plastic parts is welcome. Usually the color palette of costumes, jewelry and backgrounds is based on white and red colors, but blue shades are also acceptable.
An ancient amulet called a wedding, denoting the creative and destructive beginnings of the sun and therefore possessing double power, can rightfully be called the main symbol of the Slavic wedding. This talisman personified in a general sense the unification of the two genera, protected the future family from the evil eye and all troubles, and also brought prosperity, mutual understanding and happiness to the house of the married. Parents of young people should traditionally present a wedding to a wedding upon completion of all ceremonies.
The ancient Slavs believed that this talisman had magical properties that contributed to the creation of a family microclimate, helped the early appearance of healthy offspring, and protected spouses from squabbles and quarrels. One of the rites of the Slavic wedding ordered after the birth of the first child to hide the wedding man along with a veil, dress and other attributes of the celebration in the chest. However, some couples still left the symbol in the most prominent place in the house.
Today it has become popular to apply the image of this amulet in the form of the same tattoo to both spouses. It is worth noting that, according to Old Slavonic traditions, such a talisman is not considered real and does not have magical properties. According to ancient customs, a wedding was made by embroidery with natural threads on a piece of white fabric. Then the talisman could be hung on the wall like a picture. Preference was given to linen fabrics. Some have opted for a wooden mascot made of beech, oak, ash or birch.
Scripts for the wedding
The essence of any scenario for holding a wedding in the Old Slavic style is the naturalness of the theme. Various well-established wedding templates should be immediately abandoned. The atmosphere of the holiday, bright colors and unbridled fun - the foundation for writing a script for the Slavic wedding. Already at this stage, it's time to decide who will get the role of leader. A professional toastmaster, most likely, will cope with this task better, but it must be warned in advance about the style of the celebration and discuss all the details.
According to Slavic customs, it is customary to make a wedding train at the wedding, which is mandatory attended by the bride and groom, parents on both sides, friends of the groom and bridesmaids, as well as professional musicians. The young man, accompanied by his retinue, travels first to his lover, and then together with her goes to the venue of the wedding ceremony. At this time, guests are already waiting for the start of the celebration. Contrary to the prevailing European traditions, the bride should not be led to the altar by her father, but by the groom himself. Then the official part of the event begins, during which the newlyweds swear to each other in love, exchange wedding rings, sign in agreement to marry and kiss under the applause of the guests.
Old folk entertainments and colorful competitions of those times will fit well into the scenario of the Slavic wedding. The audience will positively appreciate the tug of war, trickle, sticks and competition in the towns. The degree of fun will be enhanced by the ancient Russian fun of jumping over a bonfire. Of course, in full compliance with all security measures. Heroes of Slavic folklore and folk tales will only decorate the holiday. Charming mermaids, frightening goblin and mysterious brownies will perfectly fit into the atmosphere of a real Slavic wedding.
For the delight of hearing, you can invite musical groups performing songs with Russian folk instruments such as gusli, domra, wheeled lyre or the well-known balalaika. The string group is recommended to be supplemented with wind instruments: shepherd’s pipe, miserable, kalyuk, pipe or horn. Keep the rhythm of peppy Slavic dances and dances should be entrusted to a group of percussion, consisting of tambourines and bells, rattles and rattles. The size and composition of the Slavic orchestra will depend only on financial capabilities. Under the fervent musical motives, guests will certainly appreciate ostentatious fist fights. Undoubtedly, it is best to use the services of professional artists to conduct such fights.
Wedding table decoration
Banquet in the organization of the celebration in the old Russian traditions plays a special role. Table decoration at a Slavic wedding needs to be made as varied and rich as possible. The inhabitants of Ancient Russia gathered for such events as whole villages, and therefore the tables practically caved in under a huge amount of refreshments for every taste. The dishes invariably included various pastries, meat and fish dishes, and at the head of the table was always a loaf, which was ordered to bake married women from the bride's clan. Of course, the organization of a Slavic wedding currently allows ordering a loaf in a bakery. The most interesting thing is that a large loaf can fully replace a wedding cake and once again emphasize the Slavic flavor of the event.
It is also necessary to determine the list of dishes for the table, which will be both delicious and consistent with the overall style of the celebration with a Slavic bias. The banquet menu in this case may consist of an impressive selection of treats:
- pies, pancakes and fritters,
- baked fish and salted herring,
- game and spit-roasted meat (rabbit, pork or beef),
- pickled mushrooms and various pickles,
- caviar and sauerkraut,
- milk pig as an exquisite delicacy.
The list of drinks includes stewed fruit drinks, fruit drinks, jelly and uzvari. The latter are decoctions of boiled water with fruit and wine additives to taste. In principle, traditional wedding drinks like champagne and some strong alcohol are perfectly acceptable to leave on the menu. If you pour strong alcohol into jugs and decanters stylized as Slavic life, then this will only benefit the atmosphere of the holiday.
Wedding gifts
The ancient Slavs strictly followed the established rules and always knew who and how much should have been presented as a gift so that all those present were satisfied. Then they could give everything that could come in handy in everyday life and at the same time personify wealth and well-being. Poultry and animals were used: geese, ducks, chickens, piglets, cows, bulls and calves were given to the young. It was not forbidden as a gift to provide even food. From what to present at the wedding in the Slavic style at present, we can mention towels without fringe, which were a symbol of unity and love of the married. By the way, ancient Slavic customs prescribed to give gifts of something in a large quantity and necessarily a multiple of ten. For example, a hundred boxes of chicken eggs or ten geese.
The oldest of the relatives in the groom's family traditionally gave him a whip. The groom was supposed to place this lash on a prominent part of the wall in the house. The symbolism in this case was to demonstrate the husband’s power over his wife. Other relatives were also supposed to present certain gifts according to the traditions and customs of the Slavic wedding. For example, a future mother-in-law usually gave her daughter-in-law some valuable heirloom. With this gift, the mother-in-law bequeathed to keep family traditions in the house of the future couple. The ring or any other jewelry acted as a relic.
Of course, many will find gifts like geese and lashes a little strange for a modern wedding. However, in Old Slavic times, young people were often given graceful furs and textiles, as well as beautiful jewelry, as a gift. These gifts are unlikely to ever go out of fashion. Also, everyday household items will always remain relevant as a presentation. It will not be difficult to find a useful gift from kitchen and household appliances, dinner sets and sets of dishes, sports simulators and entertainment devices.
An interesting tradition was the so-called "otodki". In the first six months of family life, a husband and wife evaluated the gifts of guests at a wedding. After that, they always paid a personal visit to each guest and presented him with reciprocal gifts, which in value exceeded the wedding gifts handed to them earlier. The meaning of this custom was that the family showed the value of the gifts received and how these gifts increased their family well-being.
Folk wedding songs
Not a single wedding banquet can do without singing positive songs, and even more so at a Slavic wedding. At the same time, both guests of the celebration and the newlyweds themselves can sing, as well as professional musicians who perform songs to the accompaniment of old Slavonic instruments. The repertoire should be selected when preparing the wedding script, either independently, or listen to the ideas of the musicians who are planned to be hired.
In ancient Russia, special attention was paid to ritual chants. Slavic folklore singled out wedding songs as one of the four main genres. At the celebration, they served as an expressive means with a number of literary devices: personification, the presence of permanent epithets, comparisons and diminutive suffixes to denote the bride, groom and all members of the young family.
In fact, the ritual songs of the Slavs were a unique combination of folk eloquence, Slavic mythology, elements of oral poetry and an encyclopedia about the life of the simple peasant people of those times. Many songs use the technique of idealizing the image and characters of the bride and groom, have an extraordinary brightness in the image of the plots. The motives of wealth, happiness and well-being of the young are also at the head. The groom is often compared to a drake or falcon, and the bride to a duck or cuckoo. Interestingly, the image of the cuckoo at the same time symbolizes the funeral. The ancient Slavs attribute this to the initiation rite, according to which the future bride had to “bury” her past life and begin a new, joint life with her husband from scratch. The cuckoo symbol is mentioned just in the songs at the bachelorette party and during the departure of the girl to the crown for the wedding ceremony.
The repertoire of Slavic wedding songs offers dozens of works that will perfectly fit into the atmosphere of the holiday even today. A list of the most popular ones can be found below. Spelling and writing style saved. For the most part, the names are the first line of the lyrics, on which the full text can easily be found on the relevant information resources.
Lyrical wedding songs in the Slavic style, performed directly at the festive banquet, are as follows:
- "The birch bowed to the dark forest ..."
- "On the sea, a duck yes bathed ...".
- “That you’re a birch bend, you don’t burn brightly ...”
Ritual and ritual wedding songs in the Slavic style:
- “Like a matchmaker in the yard ...” - the song announced the beginning of the ceremony according to the groom’s congratulations and sounded exactly at the moment when the bride’s parents gave their consent to the wedding.
- “A soapbox was started, like our girls ...” - tells about the bath ceremony in the bride’s house.
- “All the boyars entered the yard ...” - they sang it either at the bachelorette party or at the arrival of the groom. Execution was allowed at the wedding itself.
- “And the duck was swimming ...” - the girl was supposed to perform the song when the bride untied her braid.
- “A cuckoo cuckooed in a little garden ...” - this song is sung at the celebration itself, symbolizes the symbol of the wedding process using visual means of allegory.
- “At the gates a birch stood ...” is a calendar ritual song. It implies the entry of the bride into a new role for herself as the mother and the continuer of the man’s clan.
The choice of wedding dresses, dresses for the groom and guests
Without the characteristic costumes, it is simply impossible to fully convey the full flavor of the celebration. In addition, photos of guests made at the Slavic wedding in dresses appropriate to the style of the event will be a wonderful memory for the newlyweds. Even more responsible should approach the choice of a wedding dress for the bride and outfit for the groom.
Usually, the bride’s robe suggests a white sundress with red ethnic patterns in a traditional style. As a slightly less authentic option, a white and red dress will fit, which is likely to be found in any wedding salon. If the combination of red and white does not suit you, you can try a combination of snow-white and blue shades. At the same time, many organizers insist that the design of the Slavic wedding be sustained in the same colors as the bride’s dress.
From shoes it is worth taking a closer look at red shoes or to fabric boots in the Old Slavic style of the same color. For a winter wedding, the bride is well suited for patterned white boots in combination with a fur coat, sleeve and winter hat. In spring and autumn, it is permissible to hide from above with a colored shawl or scarf.
Experts consider loose curls and slightly sloppy styling to be one of the most suitable hairstyles for Slavic stylistics. The custom in Ancient Russia ordered the girls to wear one braid before marriage, and after the braid, it would be untied, and then it was supposed to braid two braids already. It is worth clarifying that there is no veil at the wedding in the Slavic style, instead they put on a kokoshnik or a wreath. Modern girls rather prefer to leave their heads uncovered and decorate their hair with a hairpin. If there is still a wreath, then after the official murals at the wedding, the bride must hand it to her mother.
If the newlyweds have decided on a bride's dress suitable for a Slavic wedding, it remains to choose the measure of an authentic stylish suit to the groom. There are two basic styles of color design of the outfit available: red and black colors with golden patterns or a completely white outfit with ethnic patterns. The groom, as a rule, puts on fabric boots on legs. Mandatory elements, regardless of the color palette, are bloomers and a long shirt tied with a sash.
It is necessary to strictly comply with the patterns on the suit of the groom and the dress of the bride. Ornaments at Slavic ritual weddings usually designated one of the ancient gods and were a kind of offering for the sake of patronage and blessing of the union by higher powers.
The requirements for the color scheme for the outfits of the guests were not as strict as those for the heroes of the occasion. Costumes of all natural colors, including green, blue or orange, were allowed. Girls are free to choose dresses of any length in accordance with the authenticity and general style of the Slavic surroundings. Men's suits generally need to be composed of harem pants and long shirts with sashes.
Choosing a venue, decoration and decoration of the hall
Many newlyweds try to hold a wedding celebration in one of the summer months. However, the organization of a Slavic wedding is permissible both in the warm season and in winter frosts. Holding an event in winter will only add surroundings, since the action of most old Russian fairy tales unfolded precisely in the cold season.
When choosing a place, you can give preference to a real Russian log hut with a chimney, wooden shutters on the windows and a well beyond the threshold. A key role in the stylization will be played by the wooden decoration of the interior and exterior. The presence of houses in a dense coniferous or birch forest in the autumn period, when everything around is already strewn with yellowed foliage, will give a special charm to the celebration.
As for the summer wedding in the style of Ancient Russia, everything is much simpler here. Such an event can be held directly in nature, for example, go to a wheat field. In a good and cozy place in the open air it is allowed to carry out registration, photo shoot and the celebration itself with a banquet. A less radical option is to rent a summer terrace in a restaurant with a suitable design style. The interior welcomes the presence of a real Russian stove, fireplace, towels, wicker fences and wooden furniture.
The color palette can be composed of red, burgundy, dark pink, blue and orange shades. At the heart of the design of the hall for a Slavic wedding, white must also be present. Summer is more conducive to warm, calm tones like pink, and in winter, red in combination with snow-white snowdrifts will look best. In turn, it was the red color that occupied a special place in the Old Slavic style. In addition, it was already mentioned above that the best option would be to combine the color scheme of the hall with the colors of the bride’s wedding dress.
From the generally accepted decor items for decorating a hall for a wedding in the Slavic style, it is recommended to select those that are listed in the list below:
- Textiles like chintz curtains, knitted rugs, towels and patchwork tablecloths.
- Musical instruments such as balalaikas, geese, rattles, harmonica, tambourines, button accordions and accordions.
- Gifts of nature like cones, clusters of mountain ash and spruce branches.
- Buckets and rockers.
- Sledges and carts.
- A model of a Russian stove.
- Samovars and baskets.
- Small and large nesting dolls.
Ideas for a Slavic-style photo shoot
First of all, you need to make sure that the props for the design of the celebration itself are maximally involved in the photo shoot, which should be initially told to the hired photographer. The bride and groom can be posed against the background of a wheat field or riverbank. Old theme huts in the Russian style, haystacks and horse pens will serve as wonderful thematic backdrops for photos at a Slavic wedding.
For winter photography, there are also many different subjects, for example, young people sit at the table, the bride pours tea from a samovar into cups. Winter sleighs will also be an excellent props for photography. Some go even further and shoot voluminous wedding performances in the style of Russian fairy tales like “Frost”.
Other wedding preparation features
To take into account all the traditions and rituals of Slavic weddings is an extremely difficult task. If the main points are more or less clear, it remains only to clarify some of the little things. No wonder they say that the devil is in the details.
Small thematic gifts for guests will be a good gesture from the young. Sweet cockerels on sticks, beautiful amulets and nesting dolls, as well as painted plates and saucers stylized in the Slavic style can make such a pleasant trifle. Towels and bath brooms are also suitable for the role of symbolic gifts.
Banquets with an impressive number of guests do not always go smoothly. One of the useful little things can be called special cards with the names of people invited to the wedding. Such cards are made of plain cardboard and placed in those places that are designed for specific guests at the banquet. For authenticity, cards are allowed on small wooden barrels or hemp. Dried grass crumbles around the card.
It is certainly worth mentioning wedding invitations, which also should not be knocked out of the general Old Slavic style. The front side of the invitations is usually decorated with the image of two roosters, a loaf and photographs of lovers in themed outfits. In the hands of the newlyweds are holding wooden wine glasses. Red and white embroidery can decorate the edges of the invitation. Some people prefer to change the very form of standard invitations and execute them in the form of a nesting doll or cockerel with the appropriate color scheme.
In conclusion, it should be added that the traditions and rites of the Slavic wedding are truly fascinating and distinctive. This style is perfect for the most important event in the life of young people. A high-quality approach to the organization of the celebration will allow newlyweds and guests to plunge into the real atmosphere of Old Slavonic holidays and to visit a fairy tale.