Current Trends of Family Wedding Ceremony

Abstract

Contemporary family ceremony found a wide consolidation in the family and social mode of life of the Ukrainian people. Traditional everyday wedding ceremony passed so called way of transformation and has become a component of a qualitatively new model of national culture. The Ukrainian wedding ceremony was divided into three cycles: pre-wedding, wedding and actually postwedding. In the first place, each cycle consisted of separate ceremonies. The whole process began with negotiations, when so called messengers from the potential bridegroom were sent to the bride’s parents to conclude a preliminary agreement about marriage. In case of the successful negotiations in some time comes familiarity with the bridegroom’s housekeeping, and next – engagement as fastening of the marriage agreement. Actually wedding was started with the invitation that included telling off of a daughter and son accompanied by bridesmaids and best men to walk in the village. The most dramatic wedding ritual is unbraiding the bride’s plaits and covering the bride’s head with a mob cap and head scarf that symbolized the moving of a girl to the married state. Then a bride with her dowry was prepared for the moving to the bridegroom’s house. There was a solemn sitting on the throne of newlyweds that meant the value of their ritual connection. Postwedding cycle was devoted to honoring newlyweds’ parents, joining the daughter-in-law to the husband’s family. These are the rituals of loaves, matchmaking and reception. Wedding ceremonies reflected the people's morality, common law, ethical norms and world-view ideas that were developed over the centuries. For instance, the preparing of the wedding march for the newlyweds, imitation of bride’s stealing, overcoming the obstacles on the way to the bride – is the evidence of ancient forms of marriage, which have been saved till the present-day. A dialogue of headmen about marten and hunter, interchange of presents between matchmakers, ransoming the plait, payment of a penalty for dishonor is a kind of echo of the marriage custom based on buying and selling. Some elements of the wedding ceremony preserve stable local features and ethnic specificity even nowadays. Here belong the forms and names of wedding bakery, tree branch, names and functions of wedding ranks, characters of maskers, ritual dances, wedding games etc. Though, under the new socioeconomic and cultural conditions wedding ceremonies change, but their basis remains traditional. Nowadays, the wedding itself has an abbreviated form, retaining, however , the main traditional ritual actions such as: invitations of guests, meeting of newlyweds, reception, cutting and sharing of the wedding bread, ransoming the bride, laden with the gifts of the newlyweds, symbolic initiation of a girl in womankind etc. Nowadays, with the change of the wedding ceremony culmination, its two components (wedding ceremony in the Registry Office and wedding reception) have different functional loading. Legal registration of marriage in a festive atmosphere, using emotional and artistic media (music and vocal accompaniment, room decor, festive clothes of a master of ceremony, using national symbols etc.) has become the culminating action of the first part of the wedding . The second part of the wedding ceremony – reception – includes the parental blessing of marriage, moments of cordial relations between the relatives of newlyweds, an expression of a goodwill for the newly formed family on the family’s and friends’ side, spiritual communication between people, presenting flowers and gifts, reception, greeting of guests, songs, dances, competitions, etc.. The tradition of celebrating marriage by wedding is very strong and widespread. The modern wedding ceremony is a kind of cultural and leisure activities of Ukrainian people, a form of their spiritual communication. Through the traditions, customs and ceremonies, centuries-old people’s experience is passed to the younger generations. The family-everyday ceremonies itself play a key role in the process of continuity of spiritual culture. Ethics and etiquette, behavior, relationships, communication between the young couple and their parents and other family members are of great importance here. The anniversary of the family life is a significant event, sanctified by joy of the years lived together, understanding and harmony. The happy couple always evokes a feeling of a deep respect and sincere admiration as an example of life wisdom, friendship and skills in carrying through the years light feelings. Among the family rituals, a special educational role belongs to anniversaries – gold, silver weddings, which are celebrated solemnly, pompously. However, a lot of Ukrainian families do not forget to celebrate all the "anniversaries" of married life , especially the first fifteen years annually. Study of current trends of family wedding ceremony leads to the following conclusions: a creation of Ukrainian family is made by introducing and maintaining of family traditions, customs, celebrations and wedding ceremonies; family wedding ceremony is developed and transformed according to the cultural and historical changes in the society, family wedding ceremony based on the principles of a comprehensive cultural impact on family members, promotes family unity,transmission of social and cultural experience; families with well-established traditions of family rituals are distinguished by unity, a high level of spirituality, developed abilities and interests, a wide range of cultural needs. Thus a family wedding ceremony is considered as a cultural phenomenon, a vitally important condition of spiritual life, which contributes to create the family, form a positive moral and psychological atmosphere in the family, the harmonious development of every member, preservation and transmission of family traditions, customs and ceremonies in Ukrainian society.