By Vicky Zevgolatakou
Many of the wedding customs come from the past, but continue to exist to this day.
The dowry: Dowry was an institution in which the family gave the bride her property when she got married. The institution of dowry has existed since ancient times and was the contribution of women to the common life of the couple. The reasons it existed were firstly economic and then social. Every woman's parents tried, from her young years until someone asked her to marry him, to collect as much dowry as they could. Usually, the dowry consisted of clothes, but the wealthiest gave jewellery, land, animals and dwellings.
This custom has now been abolished.
The "wedding bed": On Thursday before the wedding, the "wedding bed" is laid. Unmarried girls or girlfriends of the bride undertake the laying of the bed using white sheets. Then, the bed is decorated with sugared almonds and rice. A young boy will roll over on the bed, which was believed to make the first night of the wedding fertile.
The rice: The guests throw rice at the couple as they leave church. The rice together with rose petals symbolizes the couple's solid foundation, good luck and a happy and prosperous life.
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