Latvians had one rather interesting "ritual" of just stealing the bride. That was a sign that the bride was of great worth. The brothers of the groome used to spy on the bride by disguising as simple bypassers asking for a shelter for the night or telling to be looking for a missing goat to find out how laborious the bride is. When they came to steal her, the brothers of the bride tried to fool them by hiding the real bride and tricking them a fake one - a married woman or by dressing in the brides clothes themselves Now this has become into a fun wedding game for the folks who like to celebrate in an ethnic manner. (don't try this at home please )
I guess that happened because of the huge parental and family infuence when it came to marriage in those times. It seems that it was common sense in most of the cultures to require something in exchange of the bride. The family loses a good pair of hands and the workload rises for the rest. But now the parents aren't so dependant of their children, as in most of the western civilisation the pension system forces you to work hard all life for a more prosperous future, rather then raising more kids and "selling them to the best bidder" for a more prosperous future. Either way I don't think it works right, the eastern traditions are clashing against the spreading democratic ideas and the western world is just simply being slowly overrun by the east. And I don't see this coming to a peacefull end for neither.
I guess I brougt up too many topics in one shot, but I wish you luck in your decision Majid.
