Greece Diamond Fashion Engagement Ring 65

Greece Diamond Fashion Engagement Ring.

By Farzana Aamir. 

An engagement is a big deal in a Greek family, and a cause for great celebration. In most families, the groom still takes the traditional step of asking the bride's father for her hand in marriage. A charming part of the custom is that the groom will re-ask the bride's parents for permission to marry her on the morning of the wedding. Of course, it is merely a formality at that point, but it is charming all the same. The diamond engagement ring is not customary in Greece. It is traditional for both the man and the woman to wear a simple gold band when they officially become engaged. The rings are blessed by a Greek Orthodox priest before the newly engaged couple slips them on to their left ring fingers. The engagement bands will also serve as the wedding rings, and they are transferred to the right hand during the marriage ceremony. In Greek-American families, the couple may decide to adopt the American custom of a diamond engagement ring worn with a separate wedding band for the bride.

The bride and groom are joined by the traditional crowns called Stefana.

If you are looking for a culture whose weddings are steeped in tradition, full of joy, and lively as can be, look no further than Greece! Greek weddings are big, exciting events, packed with family, food, and dancing, as well as a beautiful marriage ceremony full of meaningful symbolism. These are some of the wedding traditions and customs which are popular in Greek weddings, whether they take place in Greece itself or in the new country of a bride or groom with Greek heritage.

Greek Engagement Customs

Dowries have long been banned in Greece, but a variation on the custom has survived. Greek parents no longer give large sums of cash or other valuables to their daughter's future husband, however the mother of the bride will often amass a “dowry” of household goods. Collected over many years, the sheets, tablecloths, and other household items will be given to the newlyweds to help furnish their first home. In a custom called nyphostoli, local women volunteer to set up the newlyweds' house. They use the items in the dowry to set up and decorate for the bride and groom. Other things may also take place 

during the nyphostoli, specifically old rituals which are supposed to bless the new marriage with fertility and abundance. One such custom is for the women 

decorating the house to bring along their babies to roll on the marital bed to ensure fertility. They may also sprinkle the bed with rose petals, coins, and almonds (presumably after the baby-rolling!). These old customs are not always included in modern Greek weddings, but they are still practiced in more rural regions.