Contents
In the life of any girl, a moment comes when a guy takes a serious step in a relationship - offers to live together. Joy overwhelms both lovers, but there is a second side to the coin. This is not only the material responsibility of the young couple, the distribution of expenses, constant care for each other, but also the starting clothing capital, which can not be done even on the first day of arrival in a new apartment or house. Modern girls do not have to decide on a wedding, so the bride’s dowry becomes no more than essentials. Let's see what it consists of.
What is a dowry for a bride?
Things that fill the joint housing of young people create coziness, a warm atmosphere - this is the bride’s dowry. The word comes from verbs «add», «give», which is quite clear and without further explanation. Grandmothers and mothers began to collect dowry from the birth of the future bride, although now, having money, they buy in a couple of days. The latter option is not very cost-effective and thought out for young girls: the currency tends to grow rapidly, something is forgotten, not everything is always in one hypermarket.
It’s great if the bride’s family honors this long tradition, keeps special souvenirs and homely cozy decor, which will come in handy. The dowry of a young girl will be necessary in any conditions, even if she decides to live separately from her parents. So, it’s the duty of mom, dad and grandmothers to collect kitchen utensils, bedding, underwear and a couple of dozens of necessary things.
What was a dowry among the ancient Slavs?
The dowry of the girl is a long tradition that came from Kievan Rus. It directly depended on the material support of the parents, but even if the family was not rich, a minimal set had to exist. The dowry included: a wedding dress, jewelry, kitchen utensils, bedding, including a blanket, towels and towels. If the future bride didn’t have such «baggage», it was believed that she would remain a lonely virgin.
Young girls took this moment so seriously that from an early age they began to prepare their own dowry on their own. For this, there was a special chest where home-made napkins, tablecloths, shirts with patterned embroidery were stacked. The bride had to prepare her wedding attire, embroider and decorate many countertops and towels. An important part of the dowry was embroidered towels and belts - they were considered gifts for the future groom and his family.
The wedding bed should have been made by the bride personally, taking into account national motifs and symbolism. The girl before the wedding was obliged to sew a rag ball, which she would then give to the children for fun games. The ceremony of collecting dowry was required in any family. Girls of merchants or boyars, princes or rural, no one was exempted from sewing. «Netkaha» was an offensive nickname for a young bride.
At the time of transportation of the dowry, a special list was compiled, which was given to mother and matchmaker for preservation in the house. The groom could not get off with one wedding. He had to redeem the dowry, according to the list of the bride, to ensure the safety of his wife's things in case of early death. The property of the groom had a land allotment and status, which automatically passed to the girl after the wedding.
Modern dowry for the bride
The world is changing, traditions are being forgotten. Every day they think less about a dowry, and only remember when it comes time to get married or live together. Is it correct? You decide. There are two sides to the coin. The first is positive. When young people begin to live together, the purchase of a dowry to create an individual life will come from them. These will not be old unnecessary carpets, Soviet teapots. And if the bride meets her future husband in another city or country, then transporting things there is not the best solution.
The other side is negative. A joint decision to live together often coincides with the unplanned pregnancy of the girl, then the problems begin. You need to buy not only a bed, diapers, clothes, a stroller for the baby, but also a dowry - kitchen utensils, household appliances young. Also, the bride’s wedding outfit! Financial difficulties are inevitable in this case for both families. If you have an initial dowry, it will provide you comfort for the first time, and later you yourself will furnish the apartment.
Ideal for a young girl if she is already working or is engaged in her favorite hobby, which brings a good income. Then the bride is not tied to an 8-hour schedule, easily combines earnings with household chores, caring for children. Modern parents must form not only material, but also spiritual dowry of their daughter, including moral values, the ability to take care, show affection, take care of loved ones. To be able to cook is also not an easy task, which the bride should learn from an early age. What holds the minimum dowry of a modern girl?
Linens
When young people begin to live together, the bed becomes the most visited place in the house, right? In order to spend time there comfortably, you need to have a comfortable, medium-hard mattress in bed size, a mattress cover, two or three bedding sets (a sheet, pillowcases, a duvet cover), pillows, a winter blanket, a summer cover, a cozy blanket. Such a list looks solid, but in fact, all things are useful to a young couple. As you can see, it’s better to buy this bride in advance than for one trip to the store.
Underwear
A husband is in a good mood not when the food is ready in the kitchen, but in the house is perfectly clean. Homeliness does not replace the beauty of a bride or wife, which needs to be shown every day in a favorable light to a loved one. Take it as a natural dowry, decorating yourself with beautiful underwear - lace shirts, revealing busts and panties, sophisticated robes, flirty pajamas. You should not look like a tortured housewife, but like a model of a bride in the eyes of your man! Do not forget about this dowry, and then small cleaning errors will be forgiven you.
Bath towels
No one can do without daily water procedures, so a dowry in the form of towels is mandatory. How many will a young couple need? At least 2 baths for each spouse or partner, several for the hands, separately for the legs, and do not forget about the guests. The kitchen also needs your dowry, so select 5 linen towels for it. If your family adheres to national traditions, then the bride has the right to use embroidered towels as a decoration.
Tableware
Having first arrived in a new apartment, at first the bride will need to feed her beloved young man with a delicious dinner. Daily trips to restaurants are not affordable for everyone. Even noble men love it when women cook for them on their own, putting their hearts into it. The choice of food is yours, but what is it to cook? You will need a dowry of 4 pots of different sizes, you will need to not only cook the soup; 3 pans - pancake, large for receiving guests, medium - for dinner for two. Brides, do not forget about the teapot and baking dishes for pies, fish, meat, baking muffins.
Dinnerware
It is desirable that the girls had 2 sets of tableware in the dowry. One for everyday use for 4-6 people, the second - for special occasions. These are cups, tablespoons and teaspoons, forks, flat and deep plates, bowls, saucers, glasses for soft drinks, glasses for wine, glasses. In the dowry of the girls should be a set of several knives - for meat, fish, bread, vegetables. Not a single board can do without wooden boards. Small parts like silicone brushes, pastry syringes are not immediately purchased.
Appliances
Not every bride is given a spare refrigerator or stove. This question is raised individually in the family of future spouses. If on the eve of a wedding, the dowry of a girl in the form of household appliances is easy to form using a gift list. Guests will be happy to provide the necessary and necessary things, so the wedding will slightly ease your financial costs. For the first time, a young couple will need a dowry - a refrigerator, a conventional and microwave oven, a mixer, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, a laptop or a PC. TV, water heater, air conditioning purchased later.
