The Will You Marry Me's of the World

     Marriage, the ultimate "I love you". It's the universal event that every happy couple hopes to host one day. However, hoping isn't enough, am I right? A marriage doesn't just occur out of nowhere, action must be taken to make it work. This is where a gift and a nervous "will you marry me?" comes in handy, for engagement is the beginning to every good marriage. You may think, what better way to propose this engagement than to get down on one knee and hold out that beautiful ring you've been saving up for all year? Well, think again. All around the world, people are finding hundreds upon hundreds of different ways to carry out their proposals. 

     Take the people of Japan, for example. It's customary for the families of a soon-to-be-married couple to get together for an event called the yunio. There, they exchange nine gifts with one another. Dried cuttlefish, kelp or konbu, long, linen threads, and folded fans are all very common gifts, for they're all symbolic to the joining of two people. Now, how about the couples of Brazil? There, couples come together for large engagement parties or receptions. During this ceremony, the man of the couple gives to his partner a plain gold ring, which is to be worn by the woman on her right hand up until the day of the actual wedding, where the ring is moved to the left hand. What about the Egyptians? When getting engaged, a couple must get together with both their families to talk about their future together. This is usually where the groom presents to his bride her engagement ring, shabkah (jewelry), and accepts to cover the cost of their future house and other necessities. Isn't that something? 

     Such old traditions and customs have been around since way back when, and fortunately, they've stuck all the way up to present day. Many people choose to go with these old traditions, whereas many other people choose to go about their engagements in far more contemporary ways. But think about it, what fun would it be if everyone was doing the same thing? Diversity is always a good thing. At least we're never bored, what with hearing about all these different ways to do something as seemingly small as ask for someone's hand.

By Julia Dankov