Rituals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Rituals - Essay Example Despite so many differences the essence of marriage remains same in all religions and that essence is the essence of love and emotions that bride and groom hold for each other and the essence of starting a new life. Attending Christian marriages has always been of interest to me. Christian marriages and their rituals always seemed pleasing to me. The ‘dress’ of the bride, the ‘church’, the ‘vows’ and the ‘flowers’ always appealed me. I always knew that this ceremony holds a deep essence and the rituals performed during the ceremony were based on moral and religious principles. The curiosity to know what all the rituals in Christian marriages hold and what message does it give to the couple, their parents and guests made me interested to study their marriage, understand their rituals and critically comment on them. Belonging to a different religion and studying the rituals of a marriage from a different religion culture would give an opportunity to observe them critically, and to do this, attending a Christian marriage was important. Making a deep study by observation, gathering information from the practitioners and later consulting to what others have said about the rituals of Christian marriages would help to explore the essence and principles of this marriage. I was told that Christian weddings are expression of joy, worship, respect, dignity and love. What I wanted to examine in this wedding was how these emotions are expressed in this marriage and through what means. I was there at the wedding day. All the guests were invited to the church were the ceremony was going to be held, but this is something of pre-conceived information which I already had, knowing something beyond this was of my interest. I will start with the seating arrangement. Family relatives were sitting to the right side of the church. The