Irish Weddings Essay Example for Free

Irish Weddings Essay Ireland is one country, which is part of the larger United Kingdom (UK). It is a blessed country with numerous greens, which range from the rolling green hills of sheep pasture to the gorgeous gardens as well as ancient castles. Romance is so much embraced by the Irish culture with a lot of passion. The Irish culture allows one to lie in a meadow with his/her love, track down four leaf clovers, or to dance night long to the favorite Irish band. The culture is rich since the Irish is a blend of the old Celtic mythologies and the Christianity brought in by St. Patrick (Haggerty Bridget http://www. irishcultureandcustoms. com/). Therefore in a relationship both backgrounds have a great influence and tradition asks the lovers to be rational and to respect each other as well as their families. The culture demands that Lovers run bare feet through rugged terrain while tumbling in the grass in show of Irish’s love of nature. Irish Church Weddings St. Patrick was an Irish and his most cherished color was blue and until recently the national flag of the Ireland was blue in honor of him. In addition to the love of green, anyone who wishes to do a church wedding must have blue as a theme (Goodwin Audrey, p128). Considering the fact that the Irish are very patient and religious, the names of the bride and bridegroom are first read in church for three consecutive Sundays prior to the wedding day so as to allow the couple to reconsider their decisions as well as also gives others a chance to file an objection for the same. A couple registers in church for marriage three months prior to their wedding day. Irish Claddagh Ring The claddagh ring is very popular among the Irish and was given to the woman by the man as a show of love and faith. (Fielding, p268). This was especially when a man was going away for sometime, either to war or in pursuit for greener pastures to improve their living standards. The ring was worn by the woman to show that she is somebody’s and could be made more personal by using the birthstone of the person to show that it is specifically meant for her. Irish Hand Fasting Before St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland, the inhabitants of Ireland believed in paganism and Celtic traditions that was attached with hand fasting. Hand fasting is a form of â€Å"trial marriage† which lasted for a year after which the couple are allowed to decide whether they are compatible to continue or to part ways. Sir Walter Scott as a betrothal day first introduced this day (Fielding, William J. p263). There was no attachments or commitments in hand fasting. Even today hand fasting has been incorporated in marriage ceremonies where the bride and the bridegroom have their hands bound together with ribbons. Irish Wedding Days Of The Week Ladies and gentlemen as you have realized the Irish are very religious and always put God before everything. The days of the week are lanked whereby Saturday is seen as no day. According to their traditions, Weddings cannot be done on Christmas day since it is Jesus birthday nor on Sunday as it is the lords worship day. They argue that the events that occur in wedding ceremonies, which include dancing and partying, are not appropriate during these special days. Some other days of the week like Friday and Saturday are also seen as inappropriate for weddings since the ceremonies can go for 2-3 and can stretch to Sunday. Irish Wedding Months For every situation the Irish have their sayings and concerning wedding months the Irish have the following myths: (Irish church wedding, http://www. romanceclass. com). They believe that the marriage that occurs in the start of the year is loving, kind and true. If one marries during the month of February his/her fate is on the balance but march weddings ends up with both joy and sorrow while those in April bring joy for both the bride and bridegroom. They further believe that to marry in May is a waste of time, To marry in June means that you will be away from each other a lot of time whereas July weddings are linked to struggling so much to make a living. Those marriages in the month of August are associated with many changes in the couple. September weddings on the other hand are linked with both wealth and comfort, whereby love and dynamic riches are for October weddings. In addition, only joy will come in November wedding but deficiency of other things and December is the best month for marriage since they belief that true love will manifest. Irish Love Charms Like the saying goes â€Å"the way to a man’s heart is true the stomach† a woman says the Irish traditional charm as she prepares food for her man. The charm is aimed at bringing the man and the woman closer to each other and makes their love grow each day. The woman longs for everlasting affection from her husband and wishes that her man could give her total attention. Irish traditional songs and lyrics The Irish are known to love songs and dance and this is more pronounced during courtship and marriage ceremonies (Mumphy et al, p126). Locals play flute and drum, fiddle as well as harp while singing helping music, which is full of fun in praise of the bride and bridegrooms. They have a proverb that says â€Å"the most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens† and hence all the music and dance is dedicated to the event of that day. Works cited. Fielding, William J. Strange Customs of Courtship and Marriage. The New Home Library, New York. 2005. P. 263. Goodwin Audrey, Irish-wedding traditions El Cajon, Ca. United States. March 2001 p128. Campbell Georgina, The Best Irish Breads and Baking. Georgina Campbell’s Ireland. 2007. p65 Mumphy, Colin and Donal O’Dea (2006), The Feckin’Book of Everything Irish. NewYork, Barnes and Noble. (2006) p126. irish church wedding accessed online 0n 1st October 2007 http://www. romanceclass. com/weddings/ireland/churcweddingasp. Haggerty Bridget, Irish culture and customs; the humor is on me now. Music for an Irish Wedding reception. jan, 2007. accessed online on 1st October 2007 http://www. irishcultureandcustoms. com/wedding/musicreception. html.