Unique Dating, Love, and Marriage Customs from Around the World
Love is universal, yet romance takes an astonishing array of forms globally. We’ve uncovered some of the world’s most fascinating dating, love, and marriage customs, from sweet to downright sinister. If you’ve never wooed your beloved with a spoon, won your partner’s weight in beer, or attended a spinsters’ ball, read on…
1. China’s Bridesmaid Blockade
As the wedding day approaches, when the Chinese groom comes to fetch his bride, he’s confronted by a barrage of bridesmaids blocking his entrance. These bridesmaids demand red envelopes of money, and sometimes even the groomsmen, subject the groom to a variety of games and physical tasks. He must sing and endure playful teasing to prove his love.
2. Wife-Carrying World Championships
Each year, competitors from around the globe gather in the village of Sonkarjävi, Finland, for this bizarre sporting event. With their wife or partner slung over their shoulder, participants tackle a variety of challenges, earning the partner’s weight in beer and significant acclaim as the winner.
3. Whale’s Tooth Gifts
Shopping for the perfect wedding gift can be daunting, but in Fiji, tradition dictates that when a man asks for a woman’s hand in marriage, he presents his soon-to-be father-in-law with a tabua (a sperm whale’s tooth). It’s said that true love requires such sacrifices—even diving hundreds of meters beneath the ocean!
4. Korea’s Monthly Valentine’s Day
In Korea, the 14th day of every month has special romantic significance, with events designated for various aspects of love and relationships. These monthly celebrations ensure there’s something to honor every relationship status.
5. Blackening of the Bride
In this (somewhat gross) Scottish pre-wedding tradition, the bride-to-be, and sometimes even her groom, are pelted with a delightful array of disgusting items from rotten eggs to treacle and fish, then paraded through the streets. The Scots believe this humiliation prepares couples for married life, adding a whole new meaning to the term ‘blushing bride’!
6. Toilet Tradition in Borneo
The Bornean Tidong tribe is known for its heart-warming wedding traditions, alongside a rather unique custom. After their special day, newlyweds are not permitted to leave their home for three days and nights—even to use the bathroom! This ritual, involving constant supervision and a restricted diet, is believed to bless the couple with good luck in their marriage.
7. Graveside Weddings in Russia
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow might seem an unlikely wedding location, but it’s a tradition for newlyweds to visit the site, take photos, and pay their respects by laying flowers and wreaths.
8. The Tragic Myth of Imilchil Marriage Festival
Set against the romance of the Atlas Mountains, legend tells of two star-crossed lovers forbidden to meet. Their tragic demise led to the creation of Morocco’s Imilchil Marriage Festival, where feasting, flirting, and socializing create a lively atmosphere for locals to potentially meet their future partners.
9. Step Inside a Courting Hut
Some African tribes provide their daughters with ‘courting huts’ to entertain potential suitors away from parental supervision. Similarly, in Cambodia, unmarried teens are encouraged to explore multiple partnerships within these huts to find their true love.
10. Croatia’s Museum of Broken Relationships
This unique exhibition in Zagreb, Croatia, showcases a collection of items left behind after break-ups. This poignant museum has resonated worldwide, even leading to a second permanent branch in Los Angeles.
11. Romance Written in a Chicken Liver
The Daur people of China have a unique custom for engaged couples who must dissect a chicken and examine its liver. A healthy liver is seen as a good omen, while an unhealthy one means the couple continues their search for love.
12. Tears of Joy in China
A month before the wedding, the bride-to-be in China’s Tujia culture begins weeping for an hour each day. Eventually, her mother and other women join in, transforming their tears into a joyful chorus, celebrating this unique bonding practice.
13. Love Padlocks in Italy
Inspired by a popular novel, couples began attaching love padlocks to the Ponte Milvio in Rome. Although it symbolizes enduring love, many cities now ban these locks to prevent environmental damage, prompting couples to find alternative ways to express their commitment.
14. Russia Puts the Romance Back into Valentine’s Day
On 8 March, Russians honor Women’s Day. Similar to Valentine’s Day, women receive gifts of flowers and chocolates, enjoying a day of relaxation while men shoulder the responsibilities.
15. The Bride Doll
This charming Puerto Rican tradition involves placing a bride doll adorned with charms at the wedding reception’s head table. At the event’s conclusion, these charms are given to guests as tokens of appreciation and love.
16. Ladies’ Choice at Gerewol Festival
In Niger, during the Gerewol Festival, Wodaabe Fula men dress in elaborate costumes, performing dances to win over brides. The choice ultimately lies with the women, making this festival a powerful display of female agency.
17. White Day in Japan
In Japan, Valentine’s Day sees women gifting chocolates to men, but one month later, during White Day, men reciprocate with gifts, expected to spend double as a display of affection.
18. Love Spoons in Wales
This quaint Welsh tradition involves carving a wooden spoon as a gesture of care and provision from a beau to their lover. If the affection is unreturned, awkwardly, the spoon is returned, but if successful, the sweetheart wears it around their neck for a few days.
19. Juliet’s Balcony in Verona, Italy
Every year, countless visitors flock to Verona’s Casa di Giulietta, a 14th-century house linked with Shakespeare’s characters, to leave graffiti and love notes in the courtyard where Romeo once courted Juliet.
20. Ghadames Date Festival
As the date harvest concludes in Ghadames, Libya, locals celebrate with festive ceremonies, where young men often partake in weddings as a part of their coming-of-age celebrations.
21. Bachelor and Spinster Balls in Australia’s Outback
Deeply embedded in Australian culture, B and S Balls offer youngsters from rural areas a chance to socialize amid notorious binge drinking and casual relationships. These events, despite facing scrutiny, are rites of passage filled with joy and youthful freedom.
22. Mt Hagen Sing-Sings
In Papua New Guinea, the Mt Hagen sing-sings present a colorful display of culture. Tribesmen paint their bodies and wear ornate feathered costumes in an effort to impress potential partners—a significant part of their courtship rituals.
23. My Big ‘Rich’ Greek Wedding
Greek weddings are celebrated with enthusiasm, especially during the couple’s first dance which features guests pinning money to their clothing, turning them into living decorations as a display of honor for the hosts.
24. Henna Tattoos
In Arabic and African cultures, intricate henna patterns adorn brides, celebrating beauty and womanhood. For Swahili women, the elaborate designs also conceal the groom’s initials in secret places on the bride’s body, symbolizing their union.
25. Jumping the Broom
In the American Deep South, the custom of ‘jumping the broom’ symbolizes the beginning of a couple’s journey together. Created during a time when their weddings were unrecognized, this tradition honors African American heritage.
26. Separation Before Ceremony?
In Ukraine, traditional couples prepare for potential divorce by burning an effigy of their matchmaker at the wedding ceremony—a unique way to herald their commitment and concerns.
27. Tree’s the One for Me
In India, girls born during specific astrological periods, known as Mangliks, are said to curse their future husbands. The remedy? Marrying a tree, which is then cut down to break the curse—a fascinating yet whimsical part of cultural practices.
28. France’s Toilet Tradition
Historically, French newlyweds had to drink remnants from wedding feasts from a toilet bowl, though this custom has faded. Nowadays, quirky reimaginations, such as chocolates served in replica toilets, offer a humorous nod to the past.
29. Beating the Groom’s Feet
Following the wedding ceremony in Korea, grooms endure foot whipping with fish and canes—a bizarre yet traditional act meant to demonstrate their strength and character for the journey ahead.
30. Eloping in Scotland
In response to the 1754 Marriage Act, which restricted couples under 21 from marrying, many young English lovers would cross the border to Scotland. Gretna Green became a favorite location for elopers, attracting thousands of couples each year.
31. Salty Bread to Inspire Romantic Dreams
During the feast of St Sargis, the patron saint of young love, unmarried Armenian women eat salty bread, hoping to dream of their future husbands—a delightful way to bond with family as they share and interpret their dreams together.
