TRADITIONS
ONE OF ROMANIA’S MOST COLOURFUL
CUSTOMS
ROMANIA
BY AMALIA
Bride-napping , the tradition of snatching the bride from under the nose of groom and guests with the wedding party in full swing is getting bigger, more glamorous and an increasingly common sight in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, but also in other cities of the country.
According to tradition, this “mock abduction” takes place at all weddings and is staged by the bride’s close friends, sometimes with a well-designed scenario.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS?
At a certain moment in the middle of the wedding party, when the groom is busy receiving congratulations or discussing with the guests, the bride is swiftly taken out of the restaurant and “hidden” somewhere – it can even be quite far from the party place, where she is driven by car – a club maybe, or another restaurant. The groom must obviously find her and pay a ransom to get his bride back.
THE RANSOM
The tradition says that if the bride is kidnapped before midnight the ransom should be paid by the godfather, but if she is kidnapped after midnight the
ransom will be paid by the groom.
In some regions of the country, it
is believed that the bride shouldn’t
walk, so she has to be carried on the
“kidnappers’” arms. To prove that she
has been
abducted, the kidnappers take one of
the bride’s shoes and give it to the
groom. After some fierce discussions,
the kidnappers, the groom and the
godfather choose the ‘’ price’’ of the
bride, which usually consists in several
whisky bottles, money or maybe even
some unusual requests on the kidnappers’ part. She returns and the party continues till the wedding guests become tired.