Many of us believe that an Arab wedding is a closed and boring event, since religion does not allow for luxurious feasts. However, this is completely wrong. Of course, obedience to Islam plays almost the most important role in the life of a Muslim. It imposes many bans, and every citizen of the UAE considers obedience to the laws of Islam to be his duty. As for the wedding ceremony, a number of restrictions are available. But the Arabs celebrate their weddings so grandly that many Europeans would envy. In this article, we will tell you about how a wedding is celebrated in the United Arab Emirates.
Matchmaking
The decision to marry is traditionally made by the head of the family - the father. Very often, these people are not guided by the idea of a happy family life of their child. For example, if this very head of the family owed someone a large sum, then, without any remorse, he could give his beautiful daughter to marry the debtor for the purpose of subsequent cancellation of the debt. Or, not looking for benefits, to give away a daughter or son for the first successful passion that came across, if only to “flush” them into adulthood.
Women in the UAE live completely separately from men, communicating only with their closest relatives, therefore it is not strange that parents are engaged in the selection of a couple. Arabs are accustomed to such customs, no matter how oppressive they seem to be a follower of other religions.
Muslims often adhere to the old custom, when a girl should not see her future husband before the wedding, much less talk to him. All she can count on is by chance to see him from the window, and then she should not tell anyone about it.
How do the bride and groom learn about each other?
All the information that is available to the girl before the wedding is the one that she will receive from the relatives of the groom: his mother, sisters or aunt. Sometimes the groom is judged by the impressions that were made in early childhood. Girls and boys under nine years of age under Arab law can play together. Each bride’s father considers it his duty to ask the groom about whether he had the opportunity to see her. He, in turn, must say that he did not see the girl, he only had the honor to hear about her.
Fathers of brides have one small "trick". If the parent is not indifferent to the daughter’s opinion and wants to make sure that she will marry a chosen one of her own free will, he does the following: communicates with the girl’s mother and herself, while casually stipulating that he wants to arrange a man’s evening, lists the guests , naming the name of the one who got involved, and watches the reaction of women. If she is positive - he directly burns to the daughter who got involved, and asks her opinion about it. Only when he receives approval does preparation for the wedding begin .
In other cases, the groom also communicates with the bride before the wedding. First, women from two families meet to discuss the upcoming marriage, then men. And after that, the groom can talk with his future wife to make a firm decision.
Sometimes parents agree on an engagement when the children are still at a very young age. They may be less than ten years old when they start talking about marriage.
Pre-wedding preparations
An event such as the wedding of an Arab sheikh can have a budget of millions of dollars. Even if the groom is not a sheikh, the average wedding in the UAE costs 80-100 thousand dollars. But this is mainly due to the fact that almost every 13 people in the United Arab Emirates are a millionaire.
So, the engagement was successful. What happens then? Next inform relatives and friends. Servants dressed in elegant clothes do this. They go from house to house, present sweets and other dishes and give out wedding invitations. All preparations usually take no more than a month, and during this time you need to do a lot.
Days before the wedding
During this period, the bride herself is given many gifts and a dowry, which remains strictly her personal property. Not only the groom, but his whole family in a hurry to present the future daughter-in-law with the best jewelry, outfits or materials for his sewing.
Unlike European customs, the bride does not wear the ring on the ring finger of the bride, but his close relative.
Formally, a marriage is concluded after the signing of a marriage contract, where the groom himself and representatives of the bride are present. Cases are also practiced when a girl may be present herself, but there must be male relatives with her. After that, the union is considered to be concluded, but in fact everyone recognizes it only after the wedding ceremony.
Arab wedding traditions
Preparations for the wedding do not end there. The last week before the celebration, the bride should stay in a secluded small room and be dressed in simple clothes. Arabs believe that so on the wedding day she will look even more beautiful. The groom should not spend the whole week in a dark room, however, he is obliged to spend the last three days before the ceremony at home surrounded only by his closest relatives and friends.
Arab wedding is a grand event. The wedding ceremony traditionally takes place after sunset. This event can be celebrated more than one day. On such wedding days, the families of the bride and groom have different goals. For example, the groom's family considers it his duty to surprise relatives, friends and other ordinary inhabitants of the UAE with a variety of treats and classrooms. Tents are put up even on the street, where any passerby can try wedding food. The girl’s family will “brag” about the decoration of the premises of their house. And this is not accidental, because the ceremony takes place in the bride’s house, and not in the mosque, as some tend to mistakenly believe.
How is the wedding celebrated?
And that is not all, what is the Arab wedding. Customs are quite original. Newlyweds can celebrate both together and separately. Often the bride and groom practice the latter option. Accordingly, the bride celebrates with women, and the groom - with men. Even if these two holidays are held in neighboring halls, their guests absolutely do not collide with each other.
Women in their hall may not cover their heads, pleasant music is pouring everywhere, dancing is going on, treats do not end there, and all the girls on this day can take a walk for fame. The most beautiful and elegant among all is the bride. In the middle of the hall is her throne, which really looks like a royal one.
The holiday with the groom is no less fun. With only one prerequisite - no alcohol. The United Arab Emirates has a dry law, and Abadis do not even smoke tobacco. Nevertheless, the walk is luxurious, and guests do not deny themselves anything. This is an Arabic-style wedding.
If this celebration men and women celebrate separately - at the end of the evening the groom with his father and witness comes to the women's room. Ladies have been notified of his arrival in advance, as they must have time to cover their heads. The walks continue. At their end, the groom leads the bride to him.
The first wedding night and traditions after the wedding
The Arabian wedding is won back, and now the time comes for the first wedding night. Close relatives should present expensive gifts to the bride. Next, the newlyweds are escorted on their wedding night.
According to the Qur'an, before entering into an intimate relationship, the newly made husband and wife are required to perform a series of prayers. On this night, they can even just talk to get to know each other better.
After the wedding night
The next morning a table is set, and guests are invited again. In the first weeks after the holiday, the spouses almost do not appear in public. After this period, friends begin to come to visit them to congratulate them again on their wedding. This is the end of the Arab wedding.