Wedding Traditions for Gifts
For generations all the way to the present, individuals chose wedding gifts based on the needs of the couple getting married as well as things they would be using to set up their household together. Traditional wedding gifts from different heritages and religions add to historical traditions still practiced in contemporary America.
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American Traditions
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American wedding traditions include bedding, such as sheets, pillows and cases, blankets and coverlet and head the list for practical, yet traditional wedding gifts, followed by dish and bath towels and supplies. Traditionally brides chose a China pattern for their dinnerware that they registered at a local store. Those invited to the wedding purchased different parts such as the dinner plates, cups or soup bowels. Silverware was and is another traditional American wedding gift along with pots and pans. In earlier times, traditional gifts might include a butter churn or ice cream maker. Since the advent of electricity, "traditional" gifts included small appliances.
Jewish Traditions
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Traditional Jewish wedding gifts are derived from the rich and ancient Jewish heritage that goes back thousands of years before Columbus ever thought of finding a new route to the East and discovering America. Gifts for traditional Jewish weddings include a wedding Dreidel--a four-sided top used to play a game during special Jewish holidays like Hanukkah, a Mezuza--a portion of Jewish scriptures to be attached to a part of the house like a door frame and a Menorah--a candelabrum used in Jewish festivals such as Hanukkah. Another gift might include a Seder Plate to be used during the dinner ceremony that commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt.
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Protestant Traditions
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Along with the usual traditional American gifts, those from a Protestant background add gifts reflective of their faith. A family Bible is one of those traditions. A family Bible not only includes the Scripture, but also pages on which to add family genealogy and history. New Bibles are available for gift giving for a wedding, but some family Bibles are passed down generation after generation. Christian traditional gifts include some form of the cross as a wall hanging or to display on a shelf. Christians may traditionally give a gift of framed scripture, often the Biblical passage from I Corinthians 13 on love, to hang on the wall. Most couples from this tradition also receive one or more books on how to have a Christ and faith-centered marriage.
Catholic Traditions
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Family Bibles also come from a Catholic tradition, though Catholic Bibles may feature the Virgin Mary, cross or a crucifix. A crucifix, apart from an illustration on a Bible, is a traditional Catholic gift to a couple getting married. This may be given as a metal or wooden cross or as part of a religious wall hanging. Framed unity prayers and candles are also important and traditional Catholic wedding gifts.
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