Language/Iranian-persian/Culture/The-Iranian-wedding

The iranian Wedding

The Iranian wedding (Persian: مراسم عروسی در ایران) is also known as Persian wedding in the Western countries.

Traditions go back to the ancient Zoroastriantradition, despite their local and regional variations (for example Iranian Azerbaijan region).

Though the concepts and theory of the marriage have been changed drastically by Islamic traditions, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in the ancient Iranian culture.

Although Iran is multi-ethnic country, Iranian wedding traditions are observed by the majority of ethnic groups in Iran and neighboring countries and regions such as Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Khastegāri (Persian: خواستگاری) is the first step of the traditional Iranian marriage process. In the olden times, when it was time for a young man to get married, his family would look for potential brides who came from families of similar standing in the community. Once the man, or his family, had decided on a potential bride, the Khastegāri process would take place. In modern Iran, this practice is replaced by the courtship of the man and woman and their mutual decision to start the khastegari process.

For this ceremony, one or more representatives of the man’s family would visit the woman's family. The first visit could be for the parties to become acquainted. At each visit, the man's family would present a bouquet of flowers and the woman's, as good hosts, provided tea, fruits and sweets. Both the woman and the man had their say in whether or not they would like a follow up on the visits. Once both parties had established serious intentions for the relationship, the man's family would bring sweets and a larger bouquet and officially ask the question.

In modern-day Iran, the Khastegari is a one-time formality. It is a sign of respect to the parents of both parties and for them (as wiser/elders) to have their thoughts shared with the potential future bride and groom.

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