Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/96

90 other. The presents of the groom are expected to be more valuable and frequent. The bride is expected to furnish the groom and his nearest friends with embroideries, stockings and other articles, all made by her own hand. Also she has to prepare several suits for herself, all to be used after marriage. The wedding garments, however, silken and of any color but white, are to be prepared by the groom.

3. The Wedding. The families of the bride and groom make special preparations for the wedding and invite their relatives and friends and neighbors to their respective homes two or three days before the marriage. One hundred guests in each home can be regarded a moderate estimate. A feast is served in both homes on the afternoon of the marriage day, after which the family and guests of the groom, all with lighted candles in their hands, go to the home of the bride "to take the bride," as they say. After spending about an hour with the guests there, and partaking of "sherbet," (non-alcholic drink) and fruits, they take the bride to the home of the groom, or to the church, where the religious ceremony is performed by the priest. The ceremony takes about an hour, and sometimes more. Nobody among the friends of the bride except one lady attends the marriage ceremony in the church, and the members of her family do not come to see her in her new home within ten to fifteen days, and she does not go to visit them before thirty to forty days.

In various parts of Armenia they have different customs, e.g.: In some places each guest brings