Writer: Annie Chou
German Department (Minor in English), Fu-Jen

Every country has it’s own wedding tradition, and Germany is no exception. In Germany there are many unique traditions and customs before and during the wedding. Usually they have a lot of things to prepare before the matrimonial ceremony and traditional nuptials generally last for three days.

Before the wedding, a wedding newsletter is made by the couple’s families. It includes photos, articles and stories of the bride and groom. It will be sold at the reception to help pay for the couple’s honeymoon. The couple also delivers a gift list in advance, telling their guests what presents they wish to receive. Their relatives and friends then will buy them things according to the list. Besides, the newlywed have to prepare places for those guests from distance to stay. When things are all well arranged, the couple now may expect excitedly the coming wedding.

A traditional German wedding usually lasts for three days. On the first day the couple must get married in a civil ceremony in which only family and close friends attend. There is a big and informal party on the second day. The bride and groom invite all their friends, neighbors and acquaintances. During the party the guests bring plates and dishes that will be smashed in a tradition called “Polterabend.” The broken pieces mean to bring good luck and happiness. Later the couple must clean up everything and this symbolizes that nothing will be broken in their house again.

On the final day, the German religious wedding ceremony takes place. The bride does not have any wedding attendants except for the flower girls. During the vows, the groom kneels down at his bride’s dress to show that he will always spend the rest of his life with her. When they stand up, the bride will step on her groom’s foot to show her firm determination for marriage, and then they exchange rings and wear the ring on the right hand. As the newlywed leave the ceremony place, they toss coins to the children. As the newlywed walk out from the ceremony, guests throw rice at them. On the way to the reception location, the guests honk their car horns along the way with the couple. At that night, there is a custom for the best man to kidnap the bride and bring her to a local pub until the groom finds them. The groom has to pay the bill until all of the guest get drunk.

This is what a typical German wedding is like in general, but there are still some special details to mention. For example, brides carry salt and bread as an omen of good harvest, and grooms carry grains for good luck and wealth, etc. Indeed, German has unique and interesting wedding customs. Even today people in Germany still respect and maintain their matrimonial conventions.

References:

1. 德國的生活 Leben in Deutschland----王美玲著
2. Culture Shock! 德國-------Richard Lord著 梁曼嫻譯
3. 知性之旅16 德國--------王演方發行
4. http://hk.weddings.yahoo.com/030117/175/pema.html
5. http://www.tlc.kherson.ua/~alex/germanwedding.htm
6. http://staff.uscolo.edu/peterssl/topics/internatl/weddings/german-wedding.htm