A Very Indian Thanksgiving

Scott and I had a very interesting Thanksgiving! We spent almost the whole week with his parents in Philadelphia for a family friends' wedding. The bride is part Armenian/ Italian and is very much a white American, The interesting twist is that the she got married to an Indian who practices Hinduism.

We arrived in Philly on Wednesday night and proceeded to spend about 6 hours at the grooms home participating in the Mehndi with approximately 70 other people! This is where the bride (and basically every other woman present) gets Henna designs applied to her hands and feet. It took the artist 5 hours to apply the brides intricate designs. Patsy and I also got some on our hands. It was an interesting experience to say the least!

The next day, we had a nice time of relaxing. There was a big Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the bride's uncle. It was essentially family thanksgiving, with all of the bride's family and friends being present. It was good to be with "family" for the night.

On Friday, we were honored with participating in the wedding. Patsy and I woke up early and went downstairs to be "dressed" in traditional Indian Sari's by one of the Indian women present. The outfit consisted of a blouse, petticoat, and sari (consisting of about 20 feet of fabric). After we were dressed, we all went upstairs and watched the bride's father and the groom perform a skit where the father had to convince the groom to marry his daughter and not go away to school instead. Once convinced, the wedding party and all of the guests danced out of the hall into another hall where the wedding was to take place.

(Scott and I before the wedding)

The entire ceremony (about 3 hours long) was performed in Sanskrit, and no one (not even the bride and groom) understood what was being said. It was so unlike an American wedding, the guests talked and carried on conversations, and there were snacks and drinks outside for those who needed a break. The ceremony consisted of the priest throwing spices and other offerings into a fire, the bride and groom walking around the fire, throwing rice on each others heads, and performing other rituals. It ended with the groom paying each bridesmaid $100 in order to get his shoes back!

(The Bride and Groom)

There was a luncheon reception and a dinner reception following the wedding, and all in all we had a very great time. It was such an educational experience, but it also made Scott and I very grateful for our families, our Faith, and our "typical" American wedding coming up this summer!

-Sarah