No event seems to be more interesting and romantic than a Russian wedding. This ritual has been around for many centuries, and he managed to acquire various signs and superstitions that are relevant to this day. Even a modern wedding is not complete without many of them. For example, one of the main and main traditions is the bitter cries of the newlyweds, after which they should kiss. What is this feature related to and what does it mean?
Different interpretations of tradition
The origins of this interesting action must be sought in the past. And there are several options for explaining why Gorky is shouted at weddings.
Winter fun
Previously, weddings were often celebrated in the winter, when it was possible to rest from crops and other harvesting work. Legend has it that the Gorky cry came from one winter joy called Slippery Hill, the essence of which was as follows: before they sucked their daughter, their parents made a snow mountain in the yard and filled it with water until it froze.
After that, the bride herself stood upstairs with her friends, and the groom had to climb this hill to kiss his chosen one.
This whole ritual of the game was accompanied by funny cries of "Gorka". After the kiss, the groom and the bride had to slide down together.
Evil eye protection
Our ancestors had many superstitions that could not but affect the wedding celebration. It was believed that shouting "Bitterly" could protect a married couple from all evil. The fact is that evil spirits could disturb the happy union of the newlyweds, so it was necessary to outsmart these dark forces.
The cries of Gorky hinted that nothing good was happening, there was nothing interesting for evil spirits. So the guests protected the young from evil eye and evil.
Treats on a tray
Previously, the bride during the wedding celebration went around the male guests, holding a tray. There were cups of vodka on it. Everyone who drank a little drink had to say “Bitter,” thereby confirming that the vodka is really bitter, and sweeten it with gold coins thrown on a tray. From here the tradition began to exclaim "Gorky", which has survived to this day.
There is another common version of this legend: the bride herself had to sweeten the bitter drink by kissing every male guest. Such a ritual was doomed to sink into oblivion, because what kind of bridegroom would be delighted with the kisses of his newly made wife with other men, even in a comic form.
Another version related to the treats also takes place. The guests shouted to the Gorky couple, hinting that they should sweeten the wedding wine with a kiss.
Only the bride needed to kiss not with the guests, but with the groom himself.
Bitter event
There is another reliable, but not entirely joyful explanation for this tradition. In ancient times, a wedding for a bride was not always a voluntary and happy affair. Therefore, during the wedding, the girl herself and her parents exclaimed “Bitterly,” thereby making it clear that this is not easy for them.
There is an interpretation that this cry came from guests and also symbolized regret that the young people would no longer be able to participate in youthful entertainment, because such a privilege was available only to free people.
Despite the general joy and fun, the wedding was a rather "bitter" ritual, because the bride left her relatives in a strange family, the newlyweds said goodbye to their former foundations and habits, most of which should be said goodbye. With the cry of “Gorky,” it was customary to splash out all these sad emotions so that life in a marriage would be easy, cloudless, and happy. A kind of it was also superstition.
Account for years
After the guests say “Bitterly”, the newlyweds kiss on a common account. Previously, a similar calculation determined how many years the bride and groom have lived in a marriage. Nowadays, such a tradition is joked, but in the old days, newlyweds tried to stretch their kiss, sometimes even to the number “one hundred”.
This choral account was like a fateful omen, therefore, the groom and the bride, and the guests took him seriously.
Now it’s hard to imagine that the newlyweds will publicly kiss for such a long time, it will be tiring not only for them, but also for the guests. Therefore, usually the modern action is terminated on the account of "ten".
Traditions of other nations
The ritual of shouting “Gorky” at the wedding was borrowed from Russians and other nations: Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Belarusians, Moldavians, that is, other Slavic groups. As far as remote countries are concerned, in Italy, for example, they shout “Bacio”, which means “kiss”, while the exclamations are accompanied by the sound of pre-prepared bells. Koreans perform the same thing at weddings. The Spaniards exclaim "Que ce besen", which means "Let them kiss." Some English-speaking countries have a tradition of knocking a glass with a fork, thereby urging the newlyweds to kiss.
Many people, because of their culture or religion, do not show their feelings at weddings in public. For example, for Armenians or Gypsies, the bride and groom should not kiss in front of everyone, because such behavior is simply unacceptable.
Is there an alternative?
The wedding over time, despite paying tribute to the traditions, has undergone and continues to undergo changes. Newlyweds each time bring something new to this event. Some conduct the ceremony in European traditions, completely moving away from Russian customs.Now for planning a wedding there are many opportunities and you can make this celebration in any style, the bride and groom, while not even need to be in traditional dresses.
Even harmless exclamations of "Bitter" are not liked by all newlyweds. To get away from this ritual, you can come up with alternative versions of calls for a kiss of lovers. Only they need to be discussed with the guests in advance, so that during the celebration itself there will not be any awkward situations.
- You can follow the example of the Italians, handing out bells to guests. And every time instead of “Gorky”, a pleasant and friendly chime will sweep through the banquet hall. The bells can thereby be decorated, for example, to engrave the initials of the newlyweds and their wedding date on them. After the celebration, these original gizmos can be left to guests as souvenirs.
- Bells can be replaced with bamboo sticks. Guests will knock on the table when they come to see the groom and the bride kiss. The sound will be muffled (not as loud as the bells), and such an unusual tapping will surely please the guests.
- To bring notes of humor to the wedding celebration, there is the following alternative: instead of exclamations "Gorky", you can write this word on some kind of tablet. And periodically, some guest will pick it up so that the newlyweds will see a hint. And for the groom and the bride, you can thereby make a sign so that they hide behind her during the kiss. At the same time, you can decorate it with some funny inscription for an even more interesting effect.
- If the newly-made spouses just do not like the word "Bitter", then who prevents just replacing it with another word? Fantasy is not limited, the main thing is to discuss this important moment of the ceremony with the host and guests in advance.
To follow old traditions or not is everyone's personal choice. Nevertheless, the kiss of lovers during the most important event of their life together is one of the most striking and romantic spectacles.
What else can replace the cries of "Bitter", see the next video.
