MATRIMONY IN RUSSIA.
(From the Pall Mall Gazette.)
Russian marriages, are generally arranged through priests. : A well-bred bridegroom must -present a gift to the monastery and another to his parish church ; the bride,: through her friends, is expected to clothe some statue of a virgin with a gown of silver brocade, enriched with more or less jewels, according to the piety of the donor ; and in some parts of Southern Russia she adds a 1 gift of two white doves to the Pope, which looks rather like a relic of the wpx-ship of Yeuus. The consent of parents is necessary for a marriage until the age of .36 in the case of men, 25 in that of women : hut young people are at liberty to appeal to the civil authorities if consent be arbitrarily withheld. In this event the parents are called upon to show reason for their refusal. The reason must not be mercenary, unless one of the young people be heir:to a landed estate ; then the question is referred to the marahal of the nobility of the district, whose decisions are based upon expediency rather than upon fixed principles. These appeals are rai-e, because the Russians are a marrying people, and dispose of their children early. In the mi’die and lower classes men marry at 20, when not drafted by the conscription. In the higher : aristocracy a young man goes the “grand 1 tour” before settling down, but he is often betrothed, before starting, to a young lady not yet out of the schoolroom. There is ho country that basso few old maids as Russia. When a girl has reached the age of twenty-five without finding a mate, she generally sets out on what she balls a pilgrimage, if poor—ou a round of travels, if rich, and iu either case she turns up some years later as a widow. Widows are as plentiful as old spinsters are scarce, and widows whose .husbands were never seen are more numerous than the rest. Etiquette forbids any -allusion to' a lady’s dead husband in her presence, aud this is sometimes convenient. When a couple are engaged a bethrothal feast is held, and the bride-elect has a look of her hair cut off in the presence of witnesses and given to the bridegroom, who in return presents a silver ring set with a turquoise, an almond cake, and a gift of bread and salt. From this moment the two are plighted ; nor can the relatives break the match except with the consent of the parties themselves, which is signified by a return of the ring and lock of hair. So much importance is attached to the ring that among poor people who cannot afford silver and a turquoise, l tin and a bit of blue stone are substituted. These bethrothal rings are kept as heirlooms, but must not be made to serve twice—a son cannot give his bride the ring which his mother received, for instance, th -ugh why this-' should be so is a mystery which the clergy, who sell the ring, could best explain. On the wedding day the bride comes to church dressed iu white ; but it is only among the 'highest classes that the bridunl costume is entirely white, and that a wreath of orange-flower blossoms is used.
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5360, 1 June 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
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550MATRIMONY IN RUSSIA. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5360, 1 June 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
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