The traditional wedding

The traditional Moldovan wedding is one of the richest and most spectacular rituals of life, a whole series of customs that accompany the union of two young people and two families. From the courtship visit to the great feast, every gesture carries a symbolic charge, meant to bring good fortune, fruitfulness and abundance to the new family. The wedding was also the occasion through which the whole village took part in the founding of a new household.

The godparents and their role

The godparents have a central role, spiritual and social: they are the parents of the marriage crowning, guides and counsellors of the young couple throughout their lives. In the tradition of Moldova, the bride and groom may even have several pairs of godparents, a sign of the prestige of the families involved. The "offering of the round loaves to the godparents" is a gesture of respect and gratitude towards those who have consented to be their spiritual parents, and the bond of godparenthood remains, like that of cumetrie, a kinship for life.

Customs and ritual moments

Before setting out for the church wedding comes the iertăciunea (the asking of forgiveness): the bride and groom ask their parents' forgiveness for the faults of childhood and receive their blessing, taking their leave of the parental home in a moment of deep emotion. The bride's dowry — shirts, carpets, chests, woven cloths and rugs made by her own hand — was carried in procession, with shouted verses and music, to be shown to the whole village. At the bride's hora, the godmother breaks the round loaf of bread above the young woman's head, a symbol of the pouring out of prosperity, then shares it among the wedding guests.

The unveiling and the great feast

A moment of deep significance is the unveiling of the bride, when the veil is replaced with a kerchief or a headscarf, a sign that the girl has become a married woman and has passed into a new stage of life. The celebration continues with the great feast, with the hora, the sârba and lăutari songs until dawn, accompanied by gifts for the young couple.

Today

Although many modern weddings in the Republic of Moldova have moved into restaurants and have borrowed new elements, the essential customs — the iertăciunea, the offering of the round loaves, the bride's hora, the unveiling — survive, especially in rural areas. They keep alive the idea that a wedding is not merely a party, but a rite of passage that binds together generations, families and the whole community. The shouted verses, the raising of glasses, the dance of the dowry and the bride's hora remain much-loved moments, in which tradition is naturally interwoven with joy, giving the Moldovan wedding its particular charm, recognised and appreciated beyond the country's borders.