What is the meaning of the Greek wedding dance handkerchief?

While food plays a huge role in Greek weddings, music and dancing are also important. To put it into perspective it helps to know that there are more than 4000 traditional dances in the Greek culture, so yes, dancing is a big part of the celebration at Greek weddings. Probably the most infamous of these dances is the Money Dance. In the Greek wedding tradition this dance starts with the bride, the groom and a handkerchief, and it is during this dance that family and other guests give the bride and groom their wedding gifts in the form of money. That’s right, forget about toasters, crystal, or linen. Greeks give the gift that everyone needs – money.

Money Dance

How to dance the money dance

Like the popular Greek Syrtos dance, the Money Dance (Kalamatianós) is a line dance. Also known as the Bride’s Dance, this celebration starts with the bride and groom dancing with a handkerchief. The parents of the bride and groom prepare for this dance before the wedding by pinning together reams of the largest bill in their currency. (Some get fancy and create a crown made of money too.) During the Money Dance, the parents step forward first and drape the money stole they’ve crafted over the happy couple and then hold hands with them to form the start of a curving line of dancers, facing right.

Once the parents of the bride and groom have done their part, the rest of the wedding guests come forward and pin money on the couple. Some practice this a little differently by having guest throw money at the couple (no coins of course). This isn’t done in an orderly manner but can become pushy as everyone crowds around, but even the pushiness is part of the Greek wedding tradition. After pinning or throwing the money, guests join the dance line with the dancer at the right end of the line becoming the leader. This person can also perform a solo dance showing off moves like sapping his thighs while everyone else continues to do the basic step.

  

The Handkerchief Dance

In the Greek culture folk dances performed today at weddings are believed to have originated from ritual dances in ancient Greece. They actually make perfect dances for weddings because they are performed by groups arm-in-arm in a line or in an open circle moving counter clockwise. The leader of the group often improvises, while those following repeat the basic steps. 

The Handkerchief Dance (tsamiko pronounced SAH-mee-koh) is called the handkerchief dance because the leader and the second dancer in line hold onto a handkerchief. Traditionally, men danced this dance which was popular among freedom fighters in the war of independence. It gets its name from the handkerchief held by the leader and the second person in line and works as a means of support while the leader performs acrobatic leaps, legs making a scissor-like motion. While there are precise steps to this dance over time improvisation has led to many variations and today women join in the fun. 

What is the meaning of the Greek wedding dance handkerchief?

As I researched the Greek wedding dance, I tried to find out the significance of the handkerchief, but didn’t find anything specific. The best I can tell is that during the traditional Kalamatianós, because the lead dancer holds the second dancer by the handkerchief instead of the hand, it allows them the freedom to improvise with more elaborate steps. If you read this and can offer some insight, I’d love to hear from you.

Photo credits: Wikimedia

Meaning behind Jordan almond wedding favors

Jordan almond wedding favors are a common tradition that carries a special meaning with it. In the Greek wedding tradition, these candy-coated almonds are known as koufeta. I’m thinking that may be connected to the generic word used for this candy which is confetti. In the Italian wedding tradition, they are called coriandoli. As wedding favors, these sugared almonds are placed in pretty boxes or tulle bags called bomboniere which are often personalized with the couple's names and wedding date.

Koufeta meaning in the Greek wedding tradition

In the Greek tradition, the bride and groom share little bombonieria (favors) filled with koufeta right after the ceremony as they greet their guests. In America, this tradition is slightly altered as they are included as one of the wedding favors at the reception. This wedding tradition finds its roots in Eastern Orthodox weddings and has been practiced for more than 3000 years, although back then the almonds were honey dipped. The salty-sweet combination is thought to symbolize life’s ups and downs and the hope that there will be more sweet than bitter. These favors typically include an odd number of almonds which represent the indivisible power of the couple’s marriage. Five is the most traditional number of almonds included in these wedding favors as each almond is thought to symbolize five hopes for married life: health, happiness, fertility, wealth and a long life.

Meaning of Jordan almond wedding favors in the Italian wedding tradition

In Italy, these bomboniera are crafted by hand using silk, organza, tulle, ribbon and flowers and may be filled with confetti, almonds, or chocolates. A little tag (bigliettino) from Italy is attached. When using almonds, traditional Italian weddings include five Jordan almonds which represent five wishes for the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, children and longevity.

As with any wedding tradition, you can adjust the Jordan almond tradition to make it your own. Pack the almonds in small decorative boxes, serve a handful in a champagne glass or a small glass bowl. However you decide to present these special wedding favors, be sure to include a small card that explains the meaning with your guests using this traditional poem:

Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat
To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.
Five wishes for the new husband and wife –Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life!

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Typical ancient Greek wedding day

Greek weddings are known for huge guest lists, plate smashing, and Greek foods including Baklava, so I thought it would be fun to look at a typical ancient Greek wedding day. I'll start by saying that in ancient Greece, the wedding ceremony was considered a decisive coming-of-age rite with the marriageable age for girls ranging from 12-15 years (men were 25-30). To narrow the focus, what we will look at today are the customs included in the wedding festivities back then that in some ways reflect our own modern customs.

 

Ancient Greek wedding feast

In ancient Greece, every wedding included a feast. It provided a bountiful amount of meat often supplied by the prenuptial sacrifices. Friends and family of both the bride and groom feasted together in a ritual sense of community, but men and women sat on opposite sides of the room. 

In Euangelos’ play the Anakalyptomene, we get an idea of just how ostentatious the food displayed might have been. In his depiction, the feast included veal, pork, hare, custards cheese, pastries, lydian treats, eggs cake, and while foods did vary from one region to another, there was one traditional food offered at every Greek wedding called “sesame.” It was made from ground sesame seeds mixed with honey and formed into cakes. This custom was tied to fertility. The belief was that the prolific nature of the sesame seed could somehow be transmitted to the new couple.

Ancient Greek bridal customs

• Ancient Greek bridal fashion included loosely draped gowns gathered at the waist and touching the floor. Form-fitting bridal gowns suggested the sensuality of their gods and today the elegant goddess gown continues to be a popular choice. 
• Ancient Greek brides also wore veils of yellow or red. These colors represented fire and were thought to scare away evil spirits. Today brides most often wear white which is thought to symbolize purity. 
• In Ancient Greece, the brides also wore diamonds. In that culture they were considered teardrops of the gods, reflecting the “flames of love.”
• Ancient Greek brides brides carried or wore flower garlands because they believed flowers signified new beginnings, fidelity and hope of fertility.

Wedding guest list

Like modern-day Greek weddings, the ancients also invited friends and relatives of the bride and groom to the celebration. At that time, men and woman didn’t gather together publicly in the same place but weddings were different. The men and women were allowed to assemble in the same room, but as I mentioned above the men sat on one side and the women on the other. So the brides and grooms of ancient Greece basically had the same problem of deciding who to include on the guest list. In ancient Athens, they tried to curb this problem through legislation that limited the number of guests to 30. Even with this restriction, it was common-place to find freeloaders trying to take advantage of the abundant food.

Wedding venue

Ancient Greek weddings were often held in the home of one of the families--either the father of the bride or the groom, but in most cases the two families collaborated. However, weddings didn’t always take place in the home. The wedding depicted in Menander’s Dyskolos took place in the shrine of Pan. Today evidence from inscriptions reveal this happened in real life too. In a 300 B.C inscription from Cos, there is evidence that weddings were held in cult sanctuaries. In this particular case, the wedding took place in the sanctuary of Herakles Dionmdonteios. However, not just anyone could use a sanctuary because use was only available to members of the group who oversaw and cared for the facility. And with the use of a sanctuary there were rules. In this particular case, the wedding had to take place in the same month in which they celebrated a festival to Herakles and then the wedding could use part of the meat of the festival sacrifices as part of the feast. However, Herakle had to be present at the celebration in the form of a statue, and he also had to have his own dining couch.

Dancing and wedding processions

Today when we say “wedding dance” we would probably think of the father of the bride dancing with his daughter and the groom dancing with his mother, or even the bride and groom’s first dance as husband and wife. However, in ancient Greece, dances accompanied all the stages of the ceremony. This included young men whirling in dance as the bride was led through the city in the wedding procession. Yes, a wedding procession was a formal part of the wedding day and it included flutes, cymbals and songs. Sometimes the groom took part in the procession but not always. Other times, the bride was brought to the bridal chamber to meet the groom there.

Another procession followed the wedding as the bride was ushered back to the groom’s house. While we might look at these processions as tradition, the ancient Greeks’ thought them to be divine in nature and involving a combination of gods and heroes. I might have to write a post on this topic alone as it is quite involved.

The last custom I’ll mention here is that of pelting the bride and groom with leaves and blossoms which was another fertility custom. In what I found in my research, it looks like the modern-day Greek’s might still throw rice. Much of what we can learn about ancient Greek weddings is depicted on vases from that time. To learn more specifics about ancient weddings in Greece check out The Nuptial Ceremony of Ancient Greece and the Articulation of Male Control Through Ritual.

 

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Thanks so much for being part of our success.

 

Photo credit: historylink101, wikimedia, wikimedia, wikimedia

Resource: The Wedding in Ancient Athens, By John Howard Oakley, Rebecca H. Sinos