I'm BAAAAAAACK!!

[The Yosemite Bear]

Does this mean I can't rule with an iron fist anymore?

hmmm, "Iron Fist"?, lets see I have "velvet glove", "Kid Gloves", and "Budda Palm Exploding Heart Death Touch" in stock but not "Iron Fist"....

[muse]

You are now the board's official teddy bear, who we can all hug for good luck and stuff.

That will not do at all.

How about the board's official Ewok?

Yub yub!

[PeZook]

2) I was at a wedding based on old folk traditions, which included a circle dance. Those circle dances look pretty silly on TV, but I have to say it was a lot of fun. It was much more fun than a traditional church wedding where everyone sits down quietly and waits for the preacher to drone on and on. During the wedding, it occurred to me that the traditional western wedding is actually an attempt to emulate the weddings of medieval royalty and nobility, complete with the very royal separation of the bride and groom from everyone else, the respectful stillness and silence that all others are to maintain during the proceedings, etc.

Your weddings don't include circle dances?

This is genuinely surprising to me. Over here, the ceremony itself is as you described: very royal and pompous and with the priest preaching, organ music, etc.

But it's the reception that most people think of when you say "wedding", and it's expected that everyone has a lot of fun. If you wanted to go the traditional Polish route, the wedding would actually be expected to last for two whole days of dancing and feasting and drinking

Or did you mean something else?

[charlemagne]

This is genuinely surprising to me. Over here, the ceremony itself is as you described: very royal and pompous and with the priest preaching, organ music, etc.

But it's the reception that most people think of when you say "wedding", and it's expected that everyone has a lot of fun. If you wanted to go the traditional Polish route, the wedding would actually be expected to last for two whole days of dancing and feasting and drinking

Yeah, it's similar here. We didn't have a church wedding, because we don't care for God or religion (even if it almost gave heart attacks to our grandmothers ), and church weddings don't count for squat any longer anyhow. The ceremony at the civil registry was not really pompous either. A bit grave, maybe, but hey, getting married is a big thing still, after all

[PeZook]

Yeah, it's similar here. We didn't have a church wedding, because we don't care for God or religion (even if it almost gave heart attacks to our grandmothers ), and church weddings don't count for squat any longer anyhow. The ceremony at the civil registry was not really pompous either. A bit grave, maybe, but hey, getting married is a big thing still, after all

Well, Germany is a lot more secular than Poland, so that's pretty understandable. In Poland it's kind of...complicated. A lot of people want the church wedding for the grand ceremony (seeing a civil wedding as less "serious", or something), and in many cases it's probably also to appease their families: Polish society is becoming secularized, but it's mostly the younger generation, and family pressure can be extreme, sometimes.

We had a church wedding in order not to upset two dozen relatives, and because she loved the church we chose. I have to admit, it was really, really grand.

I've seen a civil registry wedding as well, though, and I kinda liked it. The official was totally cool with the couple, wished them a happy marriage, etc. - there was a speech, but it wasn't anywhere on the level of what priests usually say

We should totally have a thread about wedding customs from different countries. It would be enlightening.

[charlemagne]

Well, Germany is a lot more secular than Poland, so that's pretty understandable. In Poland it's kind of...complicated. A lot of people want the church wedding for the grand ceremony (seeing a civil wedding as less "serious", or something), and in many cases it's probably also to appease their families: Polish society is becoming secularized, but it's mostly the younger generation, and family pressure can be extreme, sometimes.

We had a church wedding in order not to upset two dozen relatives, and because she loved the church we chose. I have to admit, it was really, really grand.

I've seen a civil registry wedding as well, though, and I kinda liked it. The official was totally cool with the couple, wished them a happy marriage, etc. - there was a speech, but it wasn't anywhere on the level of what priests usually say

We should totally have a thread about wedding customs from different countries. It would be enlightening.

Yeah, I can totally imagine Poland today being Germany maybe 30 years ago in regards to secularization. Also many (older) people still think civil wedding is less serious, too, although a recent law change even made church weddings a thing totally "outside" of law and regulations - you can get a church wedding but it won't mean anything legally either way.

Over the last few years, civil weddings have changed a bit to become more ceremonial, including bridal gowns and all that jazz, to replace the grand ceremonial stuff that once was only found in church weddings. So we didn't miss out on anything, we just skipped the bad stuff like a priest preaching some bullshit we don't believe in and don't want to hear anyways There's still people doing it the "old way", getting a small civil wedding and a church wedding for the pomp, but to each their own.

[Ford Prefect]

I now have the urge to call people "bru" and add "huh" on the end of all my sentences.

When I finally think that I've managed to break people I know out of this habit ...

Dips are really good for broadening your chest and shoulders.

Really? Good to know.

[Darth Wong]

2) I was at a wedding based on old folk traditions, which included a circle dance. Those circle dances look pretty silly on TV, but I have to say it was a lot of fun. It was much more fun than a traditional church wedding where everyone sits down quietly and waits for the preacher to drone on and on. During the wedding, it occurred to me that the traditional western wedding is actually an attempt to emulate the weddings of medieval royalty and nobility, complete with the very royal separation of the bride and groom from everyone else, the respectful stillness and silence that all others are to maintain during the proceedings, etc.

Your weddings don't include circle dances?

This is genuinely surprising to me. Over here, the ceremony itself is as you described: very royal and pompous and with the priest preaching, organ music, etc.

But it's the reception that most people think of when you say "wedding", and it's expected that everyone has a lot of fun. If you wanted to go the traditional Polish route, the wedding would actually be expected to last for two whole days of dancing and feasting and drinking

Or did you mean something else?

I mean something else. The wedding ceremony itself included the circle dance. I wasn't talking about the dinner reception.

It's the stuffy pompous wedding ceremony itself that I have a problem with. I understand if somebody decides to bow to tradition or family wishes in this area, but I don't think it's a good model.

[Coyote]

Welcome back; I figured there was a holiday up there that coincided with Thanksgiving in the US...

It seems that if you take really good care of yourself in your 30's, you can set the stage for an easier slide into the 40's and beyond. I exercised and took good care of myself in my 30's, now I can pass for mid-late 30's even though I'm now 41 and will be 42 in February.

And as for the weather, bear in mind it is climate change, not global warming, aerius-- for here in Boise, Idaho, high sage desert and well below Canadian latitudes, it has already snowed twice before Thanksgiving on the 26th, which is almost unheard of. Yeah, it disappeared within a couple hours, and it was just a light dusting of snow, but still... weird. And I heard that Denver got pounded with snow a few weeks ago, but they're higher up than we are.

Weddings need to be more fun. In Judaism, we break dinnerwear.