The Washington critic., 1888-01-28
A RUSSIAN WEDDING.
The Dowry--The Guests-Farewell Par
ties of the Bride,

The Dowry--The Guests-Farewell Par
ties of the Bride.
: In the higher circles, almost i'm
mediately .,ster The betrothal, workmen
are hired to make the trosseau. Accord
ing to an old Russian rule the bridegroom
makes his bride present of > wedding
costume as well as OF jewelry. The dowry
Of a Russian maiden will consist of a fun
wardrobe, household linen, kitchen uten-
sis, silver articles, carpets, curtains,
china, furniture and a piano. The latter
is said to be indispensable. They do not
care for plated articles, but require that
everything should be of solid silver.
People in very moderate circumstances
begin early to lay by something for the
dowry Of their daughters. Wedding
presents are seldom given by friends.
Should young wife die without leaving
any children behind, her dowry can be
lawfully claimed by her parents. The
husband can retain only the bed and the
picture with which his deceased wife was
ceremonially blessed.
Sometimes young ladies form parties to
help the intended bride make her clothes
II is said to be a popular belief that if any
part Of the .trosseau forming. the dowry
be unpicked the young couple will pick
quarrels when they are together.
The. month of May is supposed to be an
unlucky month for marrying The name
of the month resembles in sound the
Russian verb ito worry;' hence, in part,
the superstition. A more likely explana-
ton is this, that, as the winter breaks up
in May and the snow melts, leaving much
garbage and filth to tester in the hot sun,
a great amount of sickness is prevalent,
and the month comes to be regarded rs
unlucky and trying.
hn octc for af
Russian than at an English wedding.
They are invited to be assistants at the
wedding. The witness, who is generally
the grandest of the Connections" of the
family, is the most important person. He
pays the priests fees. Then come the
ladies of honor and the groomsmen.. The
latter have to purchase sweetmeats for the
bridesmaids. The "boyrain," who carries
the sacred picture Of Christ in silver and
gilt, is generally little boy. When the
party arrives at the church II is his duty to
hand the two pictures to the ''reader,"
who places them behind the "royal gates"
or leaning against the altar screen.
The old nurse, or housekeeper, superin-
tends the carrying of the dowry from the
house of the bride to that of her future
husband, and arranges everything for the
use of the bride. There is no law as to the
number OF bridesmaids or their costumes.
Their dresses are not all alike.
On the eve of the wedding day some-
times "a farewell girls party" Is, given
No gentlemen attend this. All those
present must be from the unmarried
They sing choruses chase each other in
the garden and romp to their hearts con-
tent They devour any amount of tea,
ice cream, lemonade and sweetmeats.
After supper they say farewell and leave
the intended bride very exhausted in view
of the ceremonies on the following day.
nj atotn 10 fnr fba hat ha1 ~ 10
fast (eat nothing) on the day of their mar
riage until the ceremony, which, in the
family of noble, always takes place in
the evening. This makes the day most
tiresome TO girl The bride distributes
her cast-off girlish toys, ribbons and jew
elry to her companions. These things are
called maiden beauty"
The peasant girls cut mp and divide
among companions ON their wedding day
the long ribbons which are fastened at the
end Of the plat of hair which hangs down
the back. These peasants Immediately
after their marriage have the hair braided
in two plaits and wound round the head,
then covered with sort of tight cap tied
behind, or with cotton or silk handker-
chief When at Pargola, in Finland, !
often saw the unmarried girls trooping
along in the evetide, hand III hand, sing
ing their weird melodies and friends told
me TO notice the difference in the style of
the hair of the unmarried and married.
The married women have, in addition,
under the invariable handkerchief lit
tie piece Of linen, lappet about the size
of floriEp hanging over the centre Of the
forehead This is more evident proof Of
marriage than wearing a wedding ring.
When the women begin TO braid up the
hair they sing part of a wedding song
All my brlad, my braid OF maiden hair;
All soon shall II be divided In twol
-[Cassers Family Magazine.