In Russia the bride bride arranged after courtship before Handshake, ceremony, after which reached full agreement on all the details of the upcoming wedding. Bride preceded by another pre-wedding ritual - dvorosmotriny, pereglyadiny, ie inspection economy groom. Sometimes the groom saw his bride only at the wedding Wedding - it is worth it to hurry up? , Future wife selected for him by relatives. And lived by the old adage "endure - slyubitsya." Modern wedding ceremony often do without stage Smotrin bride, but Russian tradition still honored in many towns in the vast Russia.

Bride - the roots of tradition

Until the XV century rarely saw his bride before the wedding narrowing, responsible for its "quality" of a close relative chosen by the groom or his mother. For these purposes, and carried out the bride. This rite was accomplished after a week of courtship in the house of the bride. With the XV-XVI centuries with matchmakers to the bride groom attended. It was the first meeting of the two future related families. Groom with parents and matchmaker went to the house of the bride circles the tradition they 'confuses the issue. "

Algorithm nesuetliv ceremony was carefully thought out. Bride dressed in the best clothes, the head throws the veil covering the face. Raise the cloak could only father of the groom, to appreciate the beauty of the bride. If he liked it, he kissed the girl on both cheeks. The relatives asked her questions that the bride replied briefly and clearly, as assessed intelligence and nous. She arranged a kind of test, offering to do some work around the house, go through the upper chamber, sometimes together with the bride: it was a measure of harmony young.

Often the bride could result in failure of the groom from the bride or the bride from the groom. In the latter case, the girl went to the closet and took off festive attire, it was a signal disturbances wedding. If the two families find a common language, the bride ended lavish feast. The groom's father brought the wine, and the bride's parents put on the table, arranging "intoxicating feast." For all classes was typically shared prayer after Smotrin and bypassing the table in a circle. On this day, there is no talk about the dowry was not conducted.

Over time, the ritual became Smotrin combined with matchmaking and Handshake and could reach more than a week before the wedding, if the relatives from the bride and groom could not agree on the amount of dowry and all the details of the wedding and the wedding feast.

It also happened

To hide any physical defect of the bride, often instead withdrawn veiled girlfriend or sister servant girl. Deception is revealed only on the day of the wedding. Relatives of the bride in such cases could appeal to the clergy, after a thorough investigation to invalidate the marriage sometimes. True, there is a rare and deceived husband in protest began to beat his young wife, a bitter drink, if not able to send her to a convent.

For cheating often had to pay life. In Russia, the girl did not take in marriage, was considered not just a "black sheep", branded a spinster was ashamed and unnatural. That is why parents try to give their daughters in marriage, even with such deception.

How to choose the Tsar's Bride

In pre-Petrine times Russian tsars chose their wives from their subjects. Bride royal brides were on special traditions. For centuries, the beauty of Russian women was almost synonymous with physical health, not for nothing that the word "beauty" of the word "red". Pale and thin, she was considered morbid or depraved, evil behavior. Is this the bride need the king? Is she able to give birth to a healthy heir?

For the Grand Prince Vasily, the father of Ivan the Terrible, the bride chose this: brought from all Russian lands hundred beautiful women, noble and commoner, three hundred of them have chosen, then a hundred, and finally ten. Such bride carried out for the Russian Tsar in the image of wedding traditions of the Byzantine emperors. Of these ten women chosen first wife of Vasily III - Solomon Aloetic, daughter of a poor nobleman.

Almost all of the bride Russian tsars were humble old-tribe: Evdokia Streshneva, the second wife of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, was the daughter of landed gentry and beloved first wife of Ivan the Terrible Zakharyin Anastasia, St. George - daughter okolnichy under Ivan III. Foreign brides began to choose a wife after the kings of Peter I, and it was all entirely rich and noble noblewoman, close to the imperial families.

And as of now

Modern bride and groom in ceremony Smotrin almost do not need - young people before marriage have time to live together and know each other. In terms of practical application tradition sunk into oblivion, but sometimes referred to today as a family pre-wedding ritual dating with parents.

Jeanne Pyatirikova

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