History - Tradition

The wedding in Pontus was not just a pleasant event, but rather a disturbing one, since the mother was now separated from her daughter. The bride's mother asked the mother of the groom to love her daughter and care for her daughter as their own child and not be lost the two families and deprive her of the joy of seeing her daughter.

A week before the wedding, groom's relatives were visiting the bride's parents, doing the "logoparma" (engagement) and making sure everything was ready for Sunday. After the finalization, the groom's relatives gave money to the bride's parents or handed over the bridals.

Wedding invitations were sometimes made with ouzo treated at home, sometimes with embroidered scarves and more often with candles. Those candles were left by the relatives of the future couple, saying the following words: "Come on Sunday to the wedding," and they were given a tip.

On Wednesday, before Sunday, the bride's friends and relatives went home with gifts, textiles, nuts and fruits.

On the day of the wedding, there was a huge feast at the groom's house. At noon, the groom was shaved, always accompanied by the sound of a Pontian lyre. The barber (perper’s) who was shaving him was shouting 'razor doesn’t cut, it needs sharpening and the groomsman gave money to go on.

After the shaving, the groom broke the chair he was sitting on during the shaving, for preventive reasons, not to sit back for shaving, which means that the marriage would not be spoiled and not marry for the second time.

After all, the fixing of the groom was next. When his making was over, they all set off for the bride's house, again accompanied by a pontian lyre. The groom with the groomsman was going first. The groom would usually go on a white or red horse. As he approached, he encountered a wall in front of him, the bride's relatives. The role of the wall was to prevent the groom from entering the bride's house.

The only way to dissolve it was for the groom to pay. He would give a hen and a wine and then he was let in.

He then got off the horse, walked to the right and embraced his mother-in-law. His relatives, who accompanied him, handed the bride her bridal gowns and a bread (blessed by the priest), which was cut in the middle and eaten by two representatives of the families.

At the time of the bride's making, especially when she was wearing her wedding dress, they cried mother and daughter because they were about to be separated. At that moment her mother in law was cooking eggs (omelette eggs) - considered good food - for the groom and he in his turn brought her round with a silver coin.

After that, they headed for the church. The bride, groom and groomsman were riding horses. The others followed behind them. At that moment the lyre player was playing a sad song, because the moment of separation of the daughter from the mother was approaching.

At the church, at the time of Isaiah's dance, the guests threw dried berries (tsemitse), rice, wheat, and other money, which the little children were collecting.

After the mystery, the newlyweds went to the groom's house, where they would stay, to make two customs for good luck. At first, when the bride passed the doorstep, they put a rug in front of her feet; she had to throw it out of her way. With this, they wanted to symbolize the obstacles - problems that he would encounter on the road to married life, but which they would be able to overcome. And a second custom was the one that led her to the fireplace in the house and there she had to press the ashes - right - on the ashes. This symbolized her faith and devotion to her husband's face, despite the difficulties.

After all, the wedding party started. After midnight, everyone was dancing in a circle, holding candles lit. The celebration ended Monday morning. Until then, no one was sleeping, and so did the newlyweds. The first night of their wedding was basically this Monday. The bride's aunt was usually responsible for the wedding bed. She took care of laying the sheets.