Iranian
Wedding Culture and Traditions
There are two stages to a Persian marriage. Most often both take
place on the same day, but occasionally there could be some time
between the two. The first is called "Aghd", the legal
process of getting married, when both the bride and bridegroom and
their guardians sign a marriage contract.
The second stage is "Jashn-e Aroosi ",
the wedding reception - the actual feasts and the celebrations,
which traditionally lasted from 3 to 7 days. The ceremony takes
place in a specially decorated room with flowers and a beautiful
and elaborately decorated spread on the floor called "Sofreh-ye
Aghd".
Traditionally Sofreh-ye Aghd is set on the
floor facing east, the direction of sunrise (light). Consequently
when bride and bridegroom are seated at the head of Sofreh-ye Aghd
they will be facing "The Light". By custom Aghd would
normally take place at bride's parents/guardians home.
The arrival of the guests, who are to be witnesses
to the marriage of the couple, initiates the wedding ceremony. Traditionally
the couples' guardians and other elder close family members are
present in the room to greet the guests and guide them to their
seats.
After all the guests are seated the bridegroom is
the first to take his seat in the room at the head of Sofreh-ye
Aghd. The bride comes afterwards and joins the bridegroom at the
head of Sofreh-ye Aghd. The bridegroom always sits on the right
hand side of the bride. In Zoroastrian culture the right side designates
a place of respect.
Persian Wedding Spread - Persian Wedding Sofreh
Aghd
The spread that is used on the floor as the backdrop
for Sofreh-ye Aghd was traditionally passed from mother to daughter
(or occasionally son). The spread is made of a luxurious fabric
such as "Termeh" (Cashmere: A rich gold embroidered fabric
originally made in Cashmere from the soft wool found beneath the
hair of the goats of Cashmere, Tibet, and the Himalayas), "Atlas"
(Gold embroidered satin) or "Abrisham" (Silk).
On Sofreh-ye Aghd, the following items are
placed:
Mirror (of fate) "Aayeneh-ye
Bakht" and two Candelabras (representing the
bride and groom and brightness in their future) one on either side
of the mirror. The mirror and two candelabras are symbols of light
and fire, two very important elements in the Zoroastrian culture.
When the bride enters the room she has her veil covering
her face. Once the bride sits beside the bridegroom she removes
her veil and the first thing that the bridegroom sees in the mirror
should be the reflection of his wife-to-be. A tray of seven
multi-colored herbs and spices "Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel"
to guard the couple and their lives together against the evil eye,
witchcraft and to drive away evil spirits. This tray consists of
seven elements in seven colors:
Poppy Seeds "Khash-Khaash"
(to break spells and witchcraft), Wild Rice "Berenj"
Angelica "Sabzi Khoshk ", Salt
"Namak" (to blind the evil eye), Nigella Seeds
"Raziyaneh", Black Tea "Chaay",
Frankincense "Kondor" (to burn the evil
spirits)
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