Rites of Passage - Marriage

Christian Marriage Rites

The traditional Christian view of marriage is that it should be for life. For Roman Catholics, marriage is a sacrament, it is a union made by God and cannot, therefore, be dissolved by divorce.

In church weddings, the bride traditionally wears white which symbolises purity. She will carry a bouquet of flowers. Usually, she is 'given away' by her father. The important part of the ceremony is when the couple make their vows and the ring is given to the bride (or rings are exchanged). The vows are recited before family and friends and before God. Sometimes the wedding ceremony will be followed by the couples' taking the bread/wafer and wine of holy communion. It is a common practice, in a Church of England ceremony, for the priest to bind the couples' hands with his stole and say, "What God has joined together, let no-one separate."

After the ceremony, confetti and/or rice are thrown.

In Orthodox churches, after the vows and rings have been exchanged, the priest crowns the couple with garlands or small crowns. They will then be led by the priest in a circular procession. The circle stands for 'never-ending' and is an expression of the wish that the marriage should last for ever.

Jewish Marriage Rites

In a Jewish wedding, the bride stands on the right hand side of the groom. The wedding ceremony takes place under a four-poster canopy called a Huppah (or Chuppah), situated in the synagogue in front of the Bimah. Sometimes, especially in Israel, the ceremony takes place in the open-air. The Huppah represents the future home of the couple. Vows are said and then the couple drink from a goblet of wine. The groom places the ring on the right index finger of the bride. The rabbi will read out the ketubah - this is the marriage contract which is drawn up before the ceremony. Marriage, in Judaism, is a contract, and the ketubah sets out the contractual duties and responsibilities of the husband towards his wife.

The rabbi then pronounces seven blessings, following which the groom stamps on a glass to smash it. This represents the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE.

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G. Jones:
The FitzWimarc School, Rayleigh, Essex