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Braiding the Bride's Hair & Shaving the Groom
Hair braiding was an important part of the pre-marriage ritual. Everything was done by the friends of the bride, who sometimes accomplished entire chef-d'oeuvres. Many jewels were put in the girl's hair and were often quite heavy to wear. Most of the jewels were made from wrought iron and silver. At the same time, the hair of the future groom was shaved which was thought to serve as protection from evil forces.
The Best Man Early on the morning of the wedding day, all the guests, relatives and friends of the groom would gather at his house. Usually, there was a table set with snacks for the guests. The main concern at that moment was the best man. The best man and the maid of honour were ( and still are ) chosen among the married couples of the town or village. They had to be close friends of the young couple. The "taking" of the best man from his own house was very a jovial and noisy procedure, which was accompanied with music and dances. The groom and his friends, headed towards the best man's house, followed by musicians and the crowd of guests. They danced dancing all the way to the best man's house and if there was a carriage, ( as in some wealthy parts of the country ) the whole procession was obliged to run after the vehicle... Even at this time, in some villages we can see a large croud, following some musicians, who, on their turn, run after a carriage, in which there tries to stand upright a very happy ( and most of the time very drunk! ) fellow - the groom. There was another table set at the best man's house for the guests... The groom brought wine and a roasted chicken. From that moment on, the best man's word was said to be "law" - whatever idea he had, everyone had to follow him. The procession headed towards the bride's house, the best man carrying his own wine, the bride's maid waving the bride's veil. If the best man suggested it, this procession could run around the village for as long as it physically could endure it and until they had no more wine... This procession went to church to take candles and a small basket of baked candy.
The copyright of the article The Rites of Marriage in Bulgaria - Part II in Bulgarian Folktales is owned by Margarita Georgieva. Permission to republish The Rites of Marriage in Bulgaria - Part II in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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