Every nation has wedding traditions and rituals that are passed down from generation to generation. All of them did not arise from scratch and are full of meaning and symbolism. Of course, over the centuries, many traditions have changed and modernized, but, nevertheless, they have retained their significance and importance.

🔵Pre-wedding stage-matchmaking
Ukrainians have always cared about their future, especially about the continuation of the family and a strong family. It has always been believed that the marriage will be happy if the newlyweds and their families perform a number of rituals bequeathed by their ancestors. That's how certain rituals, fixed by appropriate actions, songs, conspiracies, dances, formed the basis of the Ukrainian folk wedding. It was believed that if the newlyweds did not have a ritual action, then the wedding itself simply could not be.

🔵Ukrainian matchmaking in the old days
The pre-wedding stage in the old days included matchmaking, when the groom proposed to his girlfriend in front of her parents. No wedding could be imagined without matchmaking, and this was one of the main stages of the celebration. The future groom could participate in the matchmaking either by himself or by sending matchmakers to the parents of the chosen one. According to tradition, the matchmaking took place with the obligatory participation of the matchmaker, who played a central role in this process. Which one exactly?

🔵The significant role of a matchmaker
Traditionally, no Ukrainian wedding was complete without a matchmaker. A matchmaker, as a rule, was called a woman from the groom's inner circle, more often his godmother. It was the matchmaker who had the honor to ask for the hand and heart of the groom's beloved. And often the fate of the young people depended on the matchmaker's eloquence.

The matchmaking, or as it is now called an engagement, took place in the house of the bride's parents. And in order for the matchmaking to be successful, the matchmaker had to perform a number of certain magical actions. For example, tie the legs of the table so that the wedding is better knitted or wrap a cloth around the chimney, so that it is easier for the bride to "entangle".

In the case of successful matchmaking, the matchmaker took pride of place at the subsequent wedding. In addition, she was supposed to prepare the marriage bed for the young. Today, the role of a matchmaker is usually played by the groom's mother, an older married sister or a friend of the groom.

🔵Matchmaking currently
The modern groom most often goes to the bride's parents with their prior consent, carrying with him two bouquets - the future wife and the future mother-in-law, as well as small gifts to the rest of the family. If the bride's parents and the groom are not yet familiar, then the girl introduces them to each other, starting with the father. Together with the groom, a matchmaker can most often come – a father, a godfather, an uncle, a family friend, that is, an older man from the groom's family. However, the groom can simply come with his parents – his father and mother, to meet the bride's parents.

Today, matchmaking in Ukraine is mostly the acquaintance of parents with each other in the house of the groom or the bride. During the celebration, the details of the upcoming holiday are discussed, the preparation efforts are distributed and the material side of the issue is resolved.

🔵Traditions of parental blessing
After the matchmaking ceremony, the most popular in Ukraine is the tradition of parents blessing their children. The main idea is that the most important people in the couple's life, their parents, bless the creation of a new family.

Parting words and parental blessing in the old days was a very beautiful and touching rite. According to the Bible, God gave parents a special power over their children, which they had to use wisely and with love. That is why Ukrainians still take this rite of blessing so seriously. The main condition is that both the parents and the newlyweds are baptized. Such a marriage will be sealed in heaven, even if the newlyweds are not going to get married in a church.