We’ve talked about birth and death so far, and we’ll deal with coming of age as well, but let’s take a moment to talk about (insert drumroll here!) marriage!

Yes, nuptials is a fancy N word for marriage, because I needed M for military yesterday. 

So what about marriage?

Marriage serves a role in society – it is a binding agreement between individuals for the purpose of creating a stable environment. That environment is used either for the purpose of rearing children, or for a transfer of authority.

There are other numerous aspects of marriage as well, especially from a religious viewpoint, but we’re not going to focus on that as much in this post. Maybe some other time.

Ethics of Marriage

What is the acceptable age for marriage?

Who/what is allowed to marry? (Yes, what. There’s quite a plethora of fiction out there…)

Are any marriages arranged?

What are the rights of each of the parties involved in an arranged marriage?

Legality of Marriage

Is marriage overseen by the government, by the religious authorities, or another entity entirely?

Are there laws in place about incest (sibling/sibling, parent/child, cousin/cousin, etc.), same-sex relations, etc?

How strict are those laws, and who enforces them?

What about common-law marriage?

• Common-law marriage is the practice of considering individuals married after they have lived together for a certain amount of time, whether they have initiated a formal agreement between them or not.

Are handfastings accepted in place of marriage, or as a predecessor to a marriage?

• In some ancient societies, a couple would be ‘hand-fasted’ for a year and a day as a trial run of a marriage. There were some legal protections in place for both parties, but for most intents and purposes they were considered married during that time. When the year and a day was up, they would either split up with (the intent of) no hard feelings, or stay together in a binding marriage.

Traditions of Marriage

Is there a time of courtship/dating/wooing before a proposal of marriage?

What traditions are associated with betrothal and marriage?

How do different religions affect marriage ceremonies?

Is there a traditional meal involved?

What about the honeymoon? 😉

To Sum Up Marriage…

Original image used for the header is by Kichik Photography, under a CC BY 2.0 license. The image has been cropped.

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