TRADITIONS

Traditions of Mexico

• Tom Hirsch • Season 2020 • Episode 14

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TRADITIONS

Podcast Show Notes

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020

Episode:   014

Title:   TRADITIONS

Subtitle:      Traditions of Mexico

Length:            00:23:12

Final Show Link:   http://TRADITIONS.buzzsprout.com

Today we visit Mexico.If you are a new listener to TRADITIONS, we would love to hear from you.  Please email Feedback@YourSpecialDay2.com and let us know how we can help you today!

 In this episode we examine some of the differences and similarities between getting married in the United States versus wedding ceremonies in Mexico. With an ancient culture drawing upon centuries of customs and development, Mexico is the gateway to South America. 

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Episode #:                                               014

Publication Date:                                March 12, 2020

Episode Length:                                    00:23:20

Host:                                                      Tom Hirsch

URL:                                                       http://TRADITIONS.buzzsprout.com

Show Transcript:                                       www.Your-Special-Day.net/TRADITIONS/

Your Comments:                                       Tom@Your-Special-Day.net 

. . . . . . . and welcome to Episode014 of TRADITIONS. Here’s some music we all ought to recognize. (Mexican Hat Dance) Transcripts for all our shows are available for download from our sponsor’s website:
https://www.your-special-day.net/traditions 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - - - - ‘cause it’s absolutely worth repeating:  All Brides Are Beautiful!  And our beautiful ladies south of the Rio Grande are no exception. There’s just something unparalleled when it comes to the radiance of a lovely woman on her wedding day. I see it every time I stand at the end of an aisle and watch the bride approach her husband-to-be.

Because Mexican couples traditionally have long engagement periods, often a promise ring (or pre-engagement ring) is given to the bride a year or so before the formal engagement when she gets her "official" engagement ring.

This ring is meant to show a couples' commitment to each other and symbolizes that they’ll treat each other with love and devotion as if they were husband and wife.

Of course, this is only done if the couple knows it’ll be a long courtship, otherwise an engagement ring is presented

Following many old customs and beliefs, Mexican weddings continue to be one of the most lavish and well-thought-out events in the wedding world. Traditional weddings in Mexico are full of customs and rituals steeped in Mexican history and the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Many traditions still practiced date back as far as seven centuries. They’re rich in symbolism and include a mix of prayer and festivity. Mexican weddings are almost always held in a Catholic church, and the couple are considered married for eternity. From the ceremony to the mariachi music in the ending procession, these are beautiful celebrations of love.  Mexican Jewish weddings are also quite remarkable celebrations.

Catholic couples usually participate in a pre-marriage preparation course, given at their local church, to make sure they are prepared for their married life together. The course is generally completed within a few hours and consists mostly of talking through issues with your priest, such as when they want to have their first child together, the stresses involved with marriage and raising a family, and the role of faith within a marriage. Depending on your church or situation, the priest may require additional counseling before the wedding takes place. The course also attempts to provide the couple with a realistic vision of what married life will be like.

The Mexican wedding is a gala affair. Not only is it marked with fun and festivity, it also depicts an amalgamation of customs that come from other cultures including Spanish, Mayan, Native-American, Aztec, Anglo-American, and the like   ̶   as well as modern wedding trends. 

The food, music, dresses, and even customs vary from family to family, but one thing is true: Mexicans believe on the solidity and hard foundation of marriage as the pillars of the family. These sentiments, combined with beautiful traditions, form unforgettable weddings.

Mexicans are a people with high regard for their cultural values and customs. They are people's people, in the sense that socializing with near and dear ones including extended families and friends, along with good food, music, fun, and frolic is what keeps them going ahead in life. Spirituality also forms an integral part of their lives and therefore, religion―mostly Roman Catholic―plays a crucial role in their lifestyle and beliefs. 

Colorful and extravagant― are the best words to describe the whole essence of this wedding! The more the merrier―be it the number of guests, amount of food, or inclination to sing and dance to the Mariachi tunes. This occasion is indeed a time of merriment for one and all, and no reluctance is shown when it comes to the number of people invited. Mexicans generally have big extended families, in fact, in smaller towns, almost the entire population becomes a part of the wedding and each and every dear one contributes in some way or the other.

The Bride's Prayer Before the Ceremony

At a traditional Catholic wedding, the mother of the bride   ̶  or both her parents   ̶   say a prayer to bless the bride and her husband-to-be with a prosperous new life together. Sometimes the bride joins in saying the prayer. It’s the mother's (or parents') way of blessing the wedding and honoring her daughter formally.

Los padrinos y madrinas (Wedding Sponsors)

Like other Christian denominations, it’s common for Mexican weddings to include involvement from sponsors. In Mexico, sponsors are referred to as los padrinos, the godparents or godfathers, or las madrinas, the godmothers. They serve a similar role in the wedding ceremony as godparents would at a baptism and are chosen because of their special relationship to the couple. Far from a ceremonial title, padrinos and madrinas have important responsibilities in a Mexican wedding  —  including paying for certain aspects of the celebration  —  and are included in the wedding ritual. Sponsors may be assigned a specific duty, like wrapping the wedding lasso around the couple or carrying the arras during the ceremony. Others might walk down the aisle after the couple’s parents as  padrinos de honorand still others might host the bridal shower as los primeros madrina.  Being chosen as the padrinos and madrinas is a matter of great respect for the Mexicans. They are considered to be wise people who help and advise the couple all throughout the engagement and wedding planning, and also later when they face problems in their married life. They gift the couple a Bible, kneeling pillows, and a Rosary as a symbol of their blessing and —  as a mark of respect —  the godparents are given a special place by the couple in the wedding ceremony.

Las arras matrimoniales (Wedding Coins)  

This Mexican wedding tradition dates back to the Roman conquest of Iberia and traveled to Mexico, Latin America and the Philippines compliments of colonial Spain. The arras are a set of 13 gold coins that are presented to the bride as a symbol of the groom’s trust in her. For Catholic couples, this tradition is incorporated into the wedding mass with an intricately decorated gold box or tray that the priest blesses at the beginning of the ceremony. The number 13 is significant as it represents Jesus and his 12 apostles. The coins themselves symbolize the groom’s financial treasures. By gifting them to the bride, he is showing that he trusts her with his wealth, and his money is her money. When the bride accepts the gift, she promises to accept this trust with care and prudence.

El lazo (Wedding Lasso)   

Mentioned earlier in our discussion about padrinos y madrin as, El lazo symbolizes everlasting love and unity. The lazo is really more of a string of flowers and rosary beads —  usually —  and is placed around the shoulders of the couple—first the bride, then the groom—after the wedding vows  ̶  to form a figure eight as the priest blesses the couple’s marriage. This is one of the Mexican wedding traditions closely tied to Catholicism as the significance of creating the number eight with the lasso also represents new beginnings in the Bible. Couples wear this lasso for the remainder of the mass until it’s removed by the priest.

Guayabera and Huipil

The guayabera is the traditional wedding shirt worn by the groom. The style is about 200 years old and is very detailed, including embroidered panels or pleats sewn close together vertically, covering both the front and back. Commonly worn with a tuxedo in a church ceremony, it’s also the shirt of choice for Mexican beach weddings. Aside from the traditional aspect of wearing the guayabera, its loose fit makes it comfortable when worn on the hot Mexican beach. A popular color is white, but other colors can be worn at less formal weddings.

A traditional wedding gown could be infused with lots of laces and embroidery. The fabric used may also vary from cotton to satin to velvet. Various styles including flamenco and huipil are popular traditionally; however, wedding gowns also differ based on the area of living. For instance, from the area of
 Zinacantán comes a wedding dress made of cotton strings and goose feathers, the latter being a symbol of beauty, power, wealth, and fertility.

On the other hand, in the southern states, the bride's attire is usually made of velvet with embroidery of flowers. Some brides also choose to wear bolero jackets over their gown.

The bride's dress is similar to traditional wedding dresses in the U.S.   ̶   with the significant difference being that the sleeves are always short, and the wedding dress, like the guayabera, is very detailed, with flowers or shapes embroidered by hand. It’s also customary for a Mexican bride to wear blue, red, and yellow ribbons on the bridal lingerie to invite good luck. These colors are symbolic of abundance in money, passion, and food.

The bride’s mantilla veil has laces at its edges and is a popular choice when it comes to the veil. So, yes, the options are varied, except for one restriction when it comes to the jewelry: Mexican brides are forbidden to wear pearl jewelry on their wedding day as each pearl is considered to be the tear that will be shed by her during her marriage. 

Music

Many believe that a traditional Mexican wedding is not complete without a mariachi band playing the music. The members of such a band —  in general —  play guitars, drums and trumpets. Although sometimes harps and violins are also included. The band often dresses as cowboys, since mariachi music is a style of Mexican ranch music. For weddings, they may dress in black and silver or white instead. When performing at weddings, mariachis add a festive air to the reception. It’s also customary for the band to play as part of the wedding procession when the wedding is ending.

The wedding is not complete without the blessings of the Virgin Mary. Before leaving the church, the bride kneels before the Virgin of Guadalupe and an offering of a beautiful flower bouquet is made at the altar to convey the bride’s gratitude. As the couple leaves for the wedding reception, the guests throw red beads at the bride and groom in an act believed to bring good luck to the newlyweds. Guests may also shout, or —  interestingly —  shoot guns in the open air as the couple leaves the church premises in a symbolic attempt to ward off any evil spirits that may intend to create problems in the life of the newly-married couple.

The reception of a Mexican wedding is full of music, dance, and celebration, which begins even before the bride and groom reach the party venue. In the smaller, conservative towns of Mexico a sort of wedding parade takes place where the bride and groom —  with their family members —  process towards the reception venue.

They are accompanied by the wedding band and guests. As the crowd parades, people come out of their homes and join the procession to celebrate along with the newlyweds. Many a time, a donkey is also seen in the procession carrying drinks―tequila and wine bottles―to ensure that each guest gets enough of drink, music, and dance.

Music and dance go hand in hand when it comes to a Mexican celebration―there is no party without the two! Dancing usually starts with the newlyweds taking the stage for their First Dance as man and wife. During this dance, the guests hold hands and gather around them forming a heart-shaped boundary to bless them so that their love may grow all the more in their married life.

After the first dance, another important tradition is the Money Dance. Here, guests are required to pay in order to dance with the bride and groom. However, they need to be generous as the money collected is used towards setting up a new household. Traditionally, in this dance, the guests pin the currency to the bride's and groom's clothing. Salsa, meringue, and flamenco styles of dance add vigor and life to the festivities.

Another popular game seen in most Mexican weddings is called La víbora de la mar, or the Sea Snake dance. Here, the guests form separate groups consisting of single men and women, while the bride and the groom stand on chairs facing each other and form an arch through which the participants will pass. The arch can be formed by either holding hands, or by holding the bride's veil. The band plays a rhythm that gets faster as the game proceeds. The goal is to not break the snake formation. At the end of the game, the bride throws the wedding bouquet from the chair on single girls, while the groom throws his bride's blue garter on the group of single men. The girl who catches the bouquet and the man who gets hold of the garter are believed to be the next ones to get married, in some cases, to each other.

Traditionally, the food served at the reception includes tortillas, beef, chicken, and pork dishes, with beans, and spicy rice. Potato, salad, and a variety of spicy sauces are also available. Because Mexicans love spices, even their desserts have sweet and savory combinations. The menu may also vary depending upon the area of living, and of course, the budget! 

A traditional Mexican wedding is likely to have a traditional favorite when it comes to the cake, one of the most popular being the "pastel de almendra" or almond cake. These days, wedding cakes are as fancy and creamy as any other wedding cake would ideally be.

When it comes to the drinks, never forget the sangria, a traditional drink made with wine, fruits, additional sweet, and brandy! Other traditional drinks likely to be served include Jamaica,horchata, and tamarindo. And yes, tequila, rum, beer, vodka, whiskey, and other local spirits are definitely on the menu!

One thing that literally adds sweetness to the wedding is a Piñata   ̶   filled with candies and hung for the children to swat at it. Once the piñata breaks, the sweets are distributed among all the guests.

Considering their passion for merriment and partying, and the bond that they share with not only their family members but the entire neighborhood, in some areas, it’s normal for the wedding celebration to get extended till the wee hours of the next day. If this is typical of the wedding celebration in that region, additional arrangements are made for food.

La Tornaboda (Wedding After-Party)  

Translated to English, it means something like a wedding return, but la tornaboda is actually quite familiar to American couples. It’s a smaller gathering of close family and friends that takes place after the larger wedding reception, something we’d liken to an after-party. The tradition began in Mexican communities where weddings were essentially an open invitation for all to come and eat and dance, so a reception might be hundreds strong. La tornaboda allows couples to celebrate with their nearest and dearest after the bigger fiesta is done.

 

Resources:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/mexican-wedding-traditions

https://oureverydaylife.com/mexican-wedding-traditions-12184481.html

https://www.haciendatresrios.com/weddings-and-honeymoons/mexican-wedding-traditions/

https://wedessence.com/mexican-wedding-traditions

https://oureverydaylife.com/mexican-catholic-wedding-traditions-12309527.html

https://www.weddingbee.com/ceremony-and-reception/wedding-traditions-from-around-the-world-mexico/

https://blogs.transparent.com/spanish/wedding-traditions-in-mexico/

http://weddings.traditionscustoms.com/mexican_wedding

https://hubpages.com/relationships/the-history-and-beauty-of-mexican-wedding-traditions

https://travel.allwomenstalk.com/customs-and-traditions-of-mexico/

https://hema2325.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/mexicos-traditional-ceremonies/