page_title: Headscarf
section_title: Christianity
hierarchical_section_title: Headscarf / Purposes / Religious use / Christianity
caption_attribution_description: English: NEW YORK CITY. President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, attending a commemoration service for the victims of the terrorist attack of September 11 at St Nicholas\' Cathedral. His Eminence Mercury, Bishop of Zaraisk, the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the US, to the left.Русский: НЬЮ-ЙОРК. Владимир и Людмила Путины во время богослужения по жертвам терактов 11 сентября в Свято-Николаевском кафедральном соборе. Слева: управляющий приходами Святейшего Патриархата в США епископ Зарайский Меркурий.
context_page_description: A headscarf, or head scarf, is a scarf covering most or all of the top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is covered.
context_section_description: Until at least the 18th century, the wearing of a headcovering for the hair was regarded as customary for Christian women in Mediterranean, European, Middle Eastern, and African cultures, to agree with contemporary notions of modesty and as an indication of married status; the "matron's cap" is a general term for these. This practice was derived from the Christian Bible, specifically, 1 Corinthians 11:4-13, which has traditionally been interpreted to mandate the wearing of a headcovering by Christian women. To some extent, the covering of the head depended on where the woman was; indoors and at home it was less worn, but it was usual outside and on formal occasions, especially in church. Women who did not wear headcoverings were interpreted to be "a prostitute or adulteress". In Europe, law stipulated that married women who uncovered their head in public was evidence of her infidelity. The Roman Catholic Church required all women to wear a Christian headcovering over their hair in church until the 1980s; in Spain, these take the form of the mantilla. Women meeting the Pope in formal audiences are still expected to wear them. Martin Luther, the German Reformer, as well as John Calvin, a major figure in the Reformed Churches, also expected women to cover their heads in church, as did John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Churches.
  In many rural areas, women, especially widows, continue to observe the traditional Christian custom of headcovering, especially in the Mediterranean, as well as in eastern and southern Europe; in South Asia, it is common for Christian women to wear a headcovering called a dupatta. At times the styles of covering using simple cloth became very elaborate, with complicated layers and folding, held in place with hair pins.  Among the many terms for head-coverings made of flexible cloth are wimple, hennin, kerchief, gable hood, as well as light hats, mob caps and bonnets.
  Many Anabaptist Christian women (Amish/Para-Amish, Brethren, Bruderhof, Hutterites and Mennonites) wear their headscarf at all times, except when sleeping.
  In countries with large Eastern Orthodox Christianity population such as Romania  or Russia headscarves and veils are used by Christian women in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East, and Roman Catholic Church. A few years back, all women in Russia who attended Divine Liturgy wore head-coverings. A woman having her head covered means that she honors the Lord. Head-coverings also symbolizes that a woman is married and that her husband is the head of the family. Little girls also have their heads covered when they go to Mass at church, not because they are married, but in order to honor the Lord. Today, young Russian Orthodox women and little girls still cover their heads when going to church, although it differs in style from those worn by women of older age (grandmothers).
  Some English speakers use the word "babushka" (the word for 'grandma' in Russian: бaбушка ) to indicate a headscarf tied below the chin, as still commonly worn in rural parts of Europe. In many parts of Europe, headscarves are used mainly by elderly women and this led to the use of the term "babushka", an East Slavic word meaning 'grandmother'. Some types of head coverings that Russian women wear are: circlet, veil, and wimple.
caption: Lyudmila Putina wearing a headscarf next to Vladimir Putin while attending a commemoration service for the victims of terrorist attacks, November 16, 2001
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