Of Weddings and Funerals

Both are major cultural celebrations in Ghana and I have been lucky to get the possibility to attend both.

Last weekend I went to my first Ghanaian wedding. Or it was rather the blessing at church that we were invited to. Blessings take place on Saturdays. This seems to be the rule. The big cathedral was full of people. Everything had to follow an order. After the priest gave an introduction and read from the bible, the crowd was singing and dancing and screaming to give their blessings and best wishes to the couple. Afterwards the priest gave a speech about marriage, more singing and dancing and three hours later the crowd moved to another location where we were provided with drinks and food. At 6 o’clock in the evening we went home and the celebration was over. The next day was Sunday and regular church day. The newlyweds were now introduced to the whole parish and are officially married.