Global Wedding Traditions: 10 Unique wedding Customs practiced around the world.

We don't know where they came from, why are they practiced. But, somehow they managed to find place in these traditions and societies around the world. And, if they are so bizarre, why people still practice these? Are there some suerstitions attached? Nobody know the reason. Read on for some of these bizzarre, funny and some totally shocking wedding customs.

As our ongoing theme Marriages and its varying traditions play a big part in our lives. Since our world consists of different cultures and religions, each of them their very own customs. Each country will wow you with their different wedding customs. Some may be bizarre, some funny while some are totally shocking. Here's a list of 10 strange wedding customs that you never knew about until now:

1. Blackening the Bride, Scotland

Scotland's blackening of the bride is a nasty old tradition that is actually a part of a hazing ceremony before the wedding. The bride's friends surprise her and her groom and cover her with all the grossest things you can think of. Food trash, spoiled milk, tar, rotten eggs, fish, feather  literally everything! It is the belief of the Scots that if the couple can survive this pre-marital humiliation, they can endure anything in life. Quite a nasty test, don't you think?

2. The Crying Ritual, China

The Tujia community in China has an odd custom wherein the bride-to-be starts to prepare for her wedding by weeping for an hour every day for a month. 10 days into the ritual, her mother joins her and then 10 days after, her grandmother. This will continue until all the women in the family have joined this weeping ritual. They view this as an expression of love and happiness as each woman cry in different tones, turning it into a joyful song.

3. Spitting on the Bride, Kenya

The nation of Massai in Kenya has one of the most peculiar wedding traditions. At a Massai wedding, the bride has to shave her head onto which lamb fat and oil is smeared on. And before leaving the village with her husband, the bride's father blesses her by spitting on her head and breasts. While spitting may be considered as a sign of humiliation elsewhere, the Massai nation believes it to be a symbol of good fortune and luck. Also, as she leaves, she is not allowed to look back for the fear of turning into stone.

4. Beating the Groom's Feet, South Korea

This unusual tradition of beating the groom's feet occurs after the actual wedding service. Friends of the groom take off his shoes and bind his feet with a piece of rope. Then, they lift up his legs off the ground and beat the soles of his feet with a dried yellow corvina which is a type of fish or a stick. Their culture deems that this action will make the groom tougher before the first wedding night. This also acts as a ritual to test the groom's knowledge and vigour. The groom is frequently quizzed during this ritual.

5. The Kissing Act, Sweden

It is a common custom where the bride and groom kiss each other. But Sweden's distinctive wedding custom will have you bewildered. Here, it is a tradition that the groom leaves the bride during the wedding ceremony and disappears. That's not all. Any young and single men are then allowed to the bride. Likewise, the groom too gets kissed by the single ladies during this custom.

6. No Toilets, Indonesia

Indonesia's honeymoon ritual will leave you cringing in dread. Honeymooners in Indonesia are put on a house arrest for a total of three days and nights after the wedding wherein they are not allowed to use the toilets. The newly married couple is keenly watched and given a nominal quantity of food and water. It is believed that this strange custom will help in a happy marriage with healthy babies.

7. Polterabend, German

Germans practice a wedding tradition called the Polterabend which is hosted by the newlyweds. The new pair smashes the dishes that guests bring them as gifts. Crockeries are cracked, pots and pans clash. Apparently, this smashing ritual makes cacophony sounds which help in driving away evil spirits. The bridal party breaks the dishes beforehand to prepare them for the impediments ahead along with wishing them for their future.

8. Chick Liver, Inner Mongolia, China

This has to be the most shocking wedding tradition you'll ever find. The bride and groom have to take the life of a baby chick with a knife together in order to fix their wedding date. The liver's appearance is properly inspected for the date to be divined. If the liver is found to have an ill-starred appearance, the couple will keep repeating the ritual until they find an acceptable liver.

9. The Money Dance, Poland

The Polish originated the wedding tradition of money dancing during the 1990s which soon influenced few other cultures as well. In order to dance momentarily with the bride, the male guests have to pay a small fee, and the female guests have to do the same to dance with the groom. When the bride dances with her father at the wedding reception, a relative will hold out an apron in which guests will set money if they wish to dance with the bride.

10. The Shoe Thieves, India

The shoe stealing tradition is followed in most parts of India. When the groom enters the wedding altar, he is to remove his shoes. And then the chaos begins. The bride's side of the family will try to steal them while the groom's family will try to protect them. If the bride's family successfully steals the pair of shoes, they can hold it hostage until the groom pays them a ransom. Do you know any such strange wedding custom? Do share with us. we will publish in our next article.