Itisallgreek2me

The Wedding of Antonio and Johanna

Saturday in Kastelli Kissamos … the weather could not have been better for the Greek Orthodox Church Wedding (o gamos) Ceremony of Antoni and Johanna.  Scheduled for 1800 hours, in the late afternoon extended family members began to congregate at our home, the bride (h nifi) arriving from Hania around 1700 hours – hair and makeup all done, however, she would get dressed in her wedding gown at the house.  A more relaxed bride would I think be difficult to find … lots of photographs then off to the church.  The groom (o gambros) arrived first with his best man (koumbaros) and family, awaiting his bride at the front of the church.  Holding his bride’s bouquet, he presented it to her as she arrived and they walked into the church together. 

Soon after the start of the ceremony which was to take around 45 minutes, the priest blessed the rings and placed them on their right hands.  Then the wedding crowns (stefana) which were joined by a ribbon were placed on the bride and groom by the best man, who then stood behind the couple and interchanged the crowns three times as a witness to the sealing of the union.  Then the couple both drank from a goblet of wine – the “Common Cup”.  The wedding ended with a ceremonial walk where the priest, bride, groom and best man joined hands and walked around in a circle three times … the bride and groom’s first steps together as a married couple.  As they began the ceremonial walk, the guests showered rice and rose petals over them. 

At the end all the guests filed past the bride and groom in the church to congratulate them, the parents and best man standing alongside.  The best man is guest of honour and just as important as the bride and groom.  It is customary to say “na zisete” (long life to you) to the bride and groom and “na zisoun” (long life to them) to the head members of the two families.  This was also the time for the guests to drop an envelope of cash (fakelaki) into a special container – the guests’ wedding present.  I chose to be different and took them a gift from New Zealand. 

The wedding reception with some 500 guests was held at a Centre at Maleme, between Kastelli and Hania … with life Cretan music and a feast of local food, wine and tsikoudia.  As dictated by custom, the bride would dance for much of the evening, with guests taking turns to dance with her – beginning with the groom, then the best man and his family.  Anna, grandmother of the bride and family matriarch (90 next month) had been saying all week that she would only be going to the church, however, she also came to the reception, showing her normal remarkable stamina.  When we eventually arrived back in Kastelli, I assisted Anna down our little road to the house and by 0230 hours, up the completed new staircase to bed. 

As well as taking home Xerotigana, all the guests took a Bomboniere … a bag made from tulle and satin, filled with five white sugared almonds symbolizing health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life. 

I feel great satisfaction, that I made the journey to be with them all on this very memorable occasion – Johanna’s wedding … the wee girl I have known for some 30 years.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.