Henna Jewish Wedding

Mizrahi jews from the middle east and north africa have practiced pre wedding henna ceremonies for generations.

Henna jewish wedding. The regional variations of the jewish wedding henna or hina are manifest in the clothing that the bride and groom wear the specially prepared foods and pastries and the music and dancing. It is colorful spirited and highlights the bride and the groom s reverence to their heritage and their anticipation for a happy future. Israel s mizrahi jews who migrated from north african and middle eastern countries perform a lavish henna ceremony before weddings to bless the future bride and groom.

Instead a henna party may be held during the week before the ceremony at which henna is applied to the palms of the wedding couple. Second the materiality of henna was thought as protective especially of actors at the center of a passage ritual. The ashkenazim immediately before the wedding ceremony perform the ritual of bedeken in which the groom places the veil on the bride to recall the story of our patriarch jacob who did not realize that he was married to leah and not rachel until it was too late.

The tradition is a symbolic way to shower the bride and groom with what they hope. Perhaps the most interesting moroccan wedding custom also done by many other non ashkenazic jews is a henna party done in lieu of the bedeken. These markings make them easily identifiable on the day of the ceremony and may according to some protect them from the evil eye at this joyous time in their lives.

First the henna s staining of skin was seen as beautifying both as daily adornment and for weddings. The immersion of the bride in the mikveh before her wedding referred to as the night of the bath turns into a party filled with song dancing and specially prepared sweets for all her female family and friends who accompany her instead of the more sober and private experience of the ashkenazi bride. The moroccan henna party is one of the most significant and memorable of the moroccan jewish wedding traditions.

Henna parties henna parties are held for most middle eastern brides muslims jews and christians alike and are often celebrated a few days before the wedding with close women friends and family. Mehndi otherwise known as henna is a paste associated with positive spirits and good luck. The jewish henna ceremony.

The earliest records of henna a reddish brown dye used to decorate the body or colour the hair come from ancient egypt approximately five and a half thousand years ago. Of all the jewish sephardic wedding traditions the unanimous crowd favorite is the jewish henna wedding ceremony. The resulting henna designs simultaneously protect and adorn the bride.