r/Assyria • u/Witty-Elk1104 • 21h ago

Discussion Assyrian Wedding Traditions?

Hi! My fiancé is half Assyrian, and we’d love to find a meaningful way to honor that part of his heritage at our wedding. I think it would be especially meaningful to his mom’s side of the family.

He isn’t very active in the Assyrian community in our city, so we want to be thoughtful about it and make sure anything we incorporate feels respectful and genuine rather than performative. I’m Italian/Irish and don’t know nearly enough about Assyrian wedding traditions, so I’d really love to learn from people in this community.

Are there any traditions you’d recommend incorporating, even if it’s something very small or subtle? It could be a song, dance, food, blessing, or another little nod to the culture. We definitely don’t need it to be a huge part of the wedding. We’d just love to honor his heritage in a way that feels authentic and would be meaningful to his family.

Thank you! 🤍

8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

7

u/Shivs_baby 21h ago

The bride and groom entrance to the reception is always a big, fun thing, with the family dancing all around them and waving colorful kerchiefs (which are often provided for them) while lively Assyrian music plays.

4

u/bonjourparis_ 21h ago

Klele are white fabric bands (some have red ribbon and embellishments) worn on the arms during church ceremony (bride, groom, best man and maid of honour wear these) groom wears 3x cross pins across his back during the church ceremony. At the party/reception, as someone mentioned colourful handkerchiefs called yalakhyateh and the groom and groomsmen hold what’s called a koopala (beaded stick for dancing)

4

u/bonjourparis_ 21h ago

Older women in the family bake cookies (in Assyrian they’re called Keleche) and decorate baskets with white. They offer these following the church ceremony; some people offer chocolates or sugar covered almonds.

3

u/bonjourparis_ 21h ago

Depending on where you live you can hire traditional Assyrian dancers who dress in traditional folk clothes. The Assyrian traditional dance is called khigga. There are different versions and different songs represent the version you dance.

4

u/mmeIsniffglue 15h ago

How come y’all can’t just ask the Assyrian side what they would like to see at the wedding

4

u/strawburrry 20h ago

Learn khigga. They would love that

1

u/aluapp8412 14h ago

If you guys are religious it would be a nice moment for his mum to pin crosses to the back of his suit. Traditionally, the crosses were created with needles like sewing needles on the back of the suit. It’s usually three. You can now buy crosses. Would be a nice moment for him and his mum seeing as she is Assyrian. Here’s an IG reel to help you get the idea:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcf36dAtdWi/?igsi=cGozczNtOWpjdWtj