May 14, 2015

Related by Marriage: Traditions


Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. Mr. Irene's Parents exchange wedding vows.

There are few people in the pews; contrast with the numbers of many guests at the reception, here and here. The discrepency may stem from a familiar custom: Lithuanians used to maintain that the marriage ceremony was a private ritual meant to be observed only by close family. More peripheral relatives and friends did not attend the church service, but they took part in the celebration. I attended many wedding receptions, but I witnessed few marriage masses.

This tradition is similar to the christening one.

1 comment:

edutcher said...

Beautiful church.

A lot of ordinary people busted their backs to pay for that.