Currently, there are various non-church superstitions associated with Orthodoxy. Often such misconceptions concern the ordinances of the Church. The wedding ceremony is no exception.
The sacrament of church marriage, called a wedding, is a special sacrament, during which divine grace and help in creating an Orthodox family are given to the spouses. In the sacrament of the wedding, people become one whole, imprint their love for each other before God and receive a blessing for the birth and pious upbringing of children.
There are various superstitions among the people regarding the practical side of the wedding. For example, it is believed that in a leap year it is forbidden to start a sacred service. This statement is a delusion and does not correspond to the Orthodox tradition, because a leap year is not a negative magical period of time that carries in itself any harm to a person. Another such superstition is the ban on weddings in May, because in this case the newlyweds will "toil" all their lives. This point of view does not correspond to the Orthodox tradition. In the Orthodox Church, there is a ban on weddings on certain days (for example, during fasting or on the eve of Wednesday and Friday). In May, if fasting and Bright Week ends by this time, the wedding is especially common. Many believers in this month wish to enter into a church marriage, as the Orthodox Church celebrates in honor of the holidays dedicated to Easter.
There are superstitions associated directly with actions during the sacrament itself. Thus, an extinguished candle or a dropped ring is falsely considered a bad omen. Some people see this as a bad sign - the newlyweds will have troubles in their lives. There is no such statement in Orthodoxy. The candle can go out and simply from the draft in the temple, and the ring may fall due to negligence or accident. There is nothing particularly wrong with that. The candle is lit again, and the ring must be raised without fear of the inevitable horrors in the future from this negligence.
Before the sacrament of the wedding, a towel is laid in the church, to which the priest brings the spouses during the wedding. Some people believe that if one of the newlyweds is the first to step on a towel, then it will be he who will dominate the family, and will dominate in a totalitarian, rude and cruel form. Therefore, be sure to get up on the towel together. In fact, in the Church there really is a practice of getting up on a towel at the same time, but it is due to the fact that from now on, lovers must do everything together. This is a kind of image of the unity of two people who love each other.
It is necessary to begin the sacrament of the wedding consciously, understanding the essence of the sacrament. If you have any doubts and fears regarding superstition, you need to consult with a priest (and not with "church grandmothers") to get the right answers to your questions.
