Cambodian Weddings


Cambodian Weddings

Cambodia is one of the tropical country located in southeast Asia. Cambodian people are called “Khmer”. As many centuries, Cambodia was lived under pressure and war. The long time war that as known to the world was Khmer Rough regime, that brought the sadness to people not just in Cambodia, are also around the world. Khmer history has existed in one culture that base from Indian religion. As Buddhist religion country, Cambodia having the following cultures, each specific cultures and customs are much likely alike. There are some customs and culture that very different to others countries.  There is an interesting story to learn about the process of wedding.
            Each family and be a bride in future, each daughter in family have to prepare ahead. As an old customs all families who have daughter, they have to follow in many steps. First, the daughter has to stay in the house for three months as a traditional. During that period the daughter will not allow to see anyone beside her mother only. Because of old traditional practice and the status of living, there is no modernizing technology they practice this for making the daughter stay in beauty. To keep their daughter get smooth and white skin, the daughter may have to wear and use make up that made from natural herbs and other natural medicine to make them having a beauty look.
 
            After the stays in the three months, the bride is ready for wedding. The wedding has to be celebrate at the bride house. But there is also an event that they usually celebrate before the wedding is an engagement party. This engagement party can be celebrate in a small or large depend on the family likes. The groom will be in the party, introduce himself and the help of his parent to the bride family. The engagement ring will be worn on that day as a sign of pre-married. This party can be held in public or just in between both parents agreement.
 Then, after the wedding day is set up, the bride and the groom may have chance to see each other in the family couple times before the wedding. As strictly of practicing the cultural aspect and the tradition from there elderly, both couple will never have made mistake that are opposite from the tradition. For example, during the engage couple, they will never hang out or stay together as husband and wife. If one make a mistake , each family of those engage can be cancel or break up.
 
On the wedding day, they have to follow many steps and have to have each important blessing and other short events. In the early morning at the beginning , the groom will bring gift the bride’s house such as foods, fruits, clothes , jewelry., and other useful materials that the family agree that it bring them luck. There are more then five small event that they have to celebrate to complete for the safety of Buddhist believed. First event is the welcome and the blessing from the monk for the new couple. Second, is the time for them to wear rings to each others. Third, is the hair cutting ceremony, this will celebrate for paying respect to there parent and cut off the bad luck and bring the good luck for both couple. Fourth, is the palm flowers ceremony, This is for their parent and relatives, elderly and other blessing and giving gift such as jewelries and money, in this event there are only the people who are married and together with husband and wife and couple, others who divorce, broke up, death or widows and widower will not allow to attend the ceremony because they believe that it may bring the new couple bad luck. All everyone who joint this can say their wishes, blessing to new couple as what they like in a polite way. Most of them usually ask the couple to promise them that how many children that the new couple can have?. It is a happy event in between others ceremonies. Finally, is the time for another ceremony that the couple gets in the room and prays, as wish for the couple life.
However, there are a lot more ceremonies that they usually celebrate in the wedding party, but some of them are still practicing, some can ignore cause of time and expenses. After all those celebration, they have a big party for dinner. This party usually held at the wedding house or sometimes at restaurant. Nowadays, in modern life they usually celebrate at restaurant.
Finally, there are a lot more noticeable culture, traditional events, and ceremony, but wedding ceremony is one of the biggest cultural and traditional use that all the people celebrate the different in between other cultures. Because of the new generation and the modern of life style, this wedding ceremony and other process that may use as a tradition have been skip, disappear and impracticable. Otherwise, other culture that get into Cambodia ,such as foreign wedding party is now have been using in Khmer traditional. Khmer wedding will become similar to other countries in future because of the practice of foreign culure.