Interesting Parties?

28 Jul 2007

Ok other than Swing parties. What parties or celebrations have you been to that have been different or exciting. Set apart from what you'd normaly expect?
The most interesting one for me was a Greek wedding that i went to. The actual wedding was done in greek orthodox and took about 3/4's of an hour which was hard going because we couldnt understand a bloody word lol

then at the end we all sort of sighed a sigh of relief when ... they did it all again translated into English :doh:
The do though was brilliant loads of great greek food (though still not quite sure bout how to eat vine leaves stuffed with feta type cheese. Do you eat the leaf dunno

) Lots of drinking and singing. Really great fun totally chilled afternnon/evening. But the plate smashing was unbelievanle - fantastic - not quite sure if its ethical in these recycling times. Loud messy spectacular with the dancing it was brilliant!.
To top it all the bride and groom danced and people pinned £££'s to them both. They were covered not sure if my £10:00 really helped but they collected just short of £14,000!! . Mind you probably spent that on plates. What a great party though.

28 Jul 2007

I went to a circumcision recently. It was a bit like an afternoon tea with knobs on (or, in this case, partly off confused

). I sat with all the women in a separate room so we missed the goriest bits.
We started with prayers. I had dressed extremely modestly for this with only my bare feet showing and my hair covered but one woman started complaining that she could see my skin. Although the others were saying “she’s fine, leave her alone” this woman refused to pray with me; perhaps she didn’t like having an in her midst! The mother who had invited me was mortified. In the end they put extra scarves across my chest and neck, my feet and ankles, even my head until I looked like the pile of coats in the corner!
Then the men paraded the newly-cirumcised 9 year old around the town in a convoy of hooting cars with the boy dressed up as some kind of little prince or pope with cloak, mitre and staff.
Fabulous honey-drenched pastries and glasses of tea afterwards!

28 Jul 2007

Hardly a party, but a sort of celebration, I went to the funeral of the wife of a friend who had been a colleague. We had been guests in each others houses from time to time but I had had no idea that she was jewish, and I was surprised when arriving at the crematorium to see many of the men, and my friend and some colleagues, wearing black skull caps. As I entered I was offered one, and politely declined, but was persuaded to take it so I put it on for a few moments, but I felt very awkward and took it off and put it in my pocket. I was glad when the service was over, and I quickly went home and not to the reception.
I'm usually able to cope with other people's cultural habits, but on this occasion it just got to me ... perhaps because it was such a surprise.

28 Jul 2007

Thai wedding, up in a very quite village.......Chanting started at 4am, woken at 6am to hear someone say Bride and Groom were married...8am about 200 people appeared from somewhere to celebrate, .... about 9am the monks arrived, more chanting and prayers etc.......about 11am all the people left the village.......and returned about 10 mins later in a procession, carrying money, fruit, meat, fish, pastries, and 2 banana trees, singing and dancing these were all presented to the Bride and Groom, we then had to pour blessed water over the hands of Bride and Groom and say something in thai.
After all that eating, drinking and dancing took place, by it was as though someone had turn a switch and as fast as all these people had arrived they had gone again, then a truck arrived and picked up all the tables and chairs, etc, tradional musicans went, Bride and Groom were now wandering around in jeans and t shirts, and it was as though nothing had happened.
Then the old girls of the village produced more food and life just went on.
Glad I went and saw what I did.