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Christian Wedding Ceremony:
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Normally all Christian wedding are celebrated in a Church. The friends and family members of
the bride and the bridegroom attain the wedding celebration. Just like any other wedding in
other religion Christian wedding is also celebrated over a couple of days. As there are pre
wedding, wedding and post wedding rituals. An Anglo Indian Christian bride traditionally wears
a white gown in western style and the groom wears a suit. The wedding rituals are conducted
along with the holy mass. Like in all Indian matrimonial rituals, this community too, has an
interesting lecture with an emphasis on the sanctity of marriage given by the priest. Christian
wedding rituals and customs are simple and easy to follow.
Among the main pre wedding rituals there are functions like bridal shower, which is an informal
hen party hosted by the bride's female friends. It is mainly a female get together to celebrate
the occasion. It is a fun filled function where games are played, they sing and dance the whole
night. The friends and relatives shower gifts upon the bride. The bride serves a pink cake with
a thimble hidden inside. According to tradition, the girl who gets the slice of cake with the
thimble in it will be the next to marry.
Just like the bridal shower, which is an all girl's party a bachelor's party is also celebrated
by the groom and his male friends. It is called a stag party hosted by the groom on the eve of
his wedding or a couple of days earlier. Usually this is a wild party, and the groom is expected
to enjoy his last night as a bachelor.
It is customary to raise a toast before the drinking begins in earnest. It is mostly celebrated
to have fun and enjoyment with his close fiends.
Welcoming the bride is done on the day of the wedding; when the groom sends a car to pick up
the bride and waits for her outside the church. When the bride arrives, the Best Man welcomes
her with a kiss on either cheek and hands her a bouquet of flowers. The couple walks down the
aisle slowly and gracefully with the wedding procession in tow till they reach where the priest
stands for the wedding mass. The priest then welcomes them and offers his best wishes. The
wedding mass begins with hymns and selected readings from the Bible. The priest then delivers
the homily, with an emphasis on the sanctity of marriage. The next ritual is the blessing and
the exchange of the wedding rings. The ceremony comes to an end with the final blessing of the
priest. The guests, towards the end, shower their blessings on the newly wedded couple. The
last formality is the couple then signs the register and walk down aisle, arm in arm.
In the post wedding rituals like weddings in all Indian community Catholic weddings is followed
by a reception for celebration the reception party is a grand affair where the newly-weds enter
the venue and are welcomed by all with a shower of confetti. They cut the wedding cake and feed
each a bite of the first slice. The Toastmaster proposes a toast in honor of the couple. The
reception is mostly celebrated with dance and dinner party. In many function a live band performs
and everybody dances to the tune of the band. This is how most Christian weddings are celebrated.
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