Informative Essay: The Sikh Temple

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Wedding are such beautiful and unforgettable ceremonies where two bind their love forever. Different cultures have different traditional way of celebrating tying the knot, depending on their religion. Last summer I had the opportunity to take part of a Sikh wedding which was so new and beautiful to me. Sikhism emerged in city of Punjab, India, and it is known to be a religion that separates itself from Islam and Hinduism. For the purpose of this paper I will explain some ceremonies I observed as well as the visit to the Gurdwara, the Sikh temple.

First night I arrived to the bride's family house they were having the Choora Ceremony also known as the bangle ceremony. During this ritual the bride's uncle gives her 21 red bangles known as choora. …show more content…

All the guests were waiting outside, on the steps of the building for the groom to arrive. The arrival of the groom is called Milni as the bride's parents and family welcome him and his side of the venue in front of the Gurdwara. The groom was wearing a traditional Indian suit with a red turban on his head along with a heavy embroidery veil, and a sward around his waist. Both falilies sing songs and hymns as they introduce themselves and place garlands on each other's necks. After the Milni everyone is invited inside to have breakfast before the ceremony begins. Langar is known as a community kitchen in a Gurwara which serves meals before any religious ceremonies. Before eating everyone has to take their shoes off as they enter the temple, women had to have their head covered and the men that didn't wear a turban were given a cover for their head as well. After entering everyone was waiting in line to put some traditional food on their plates. I found it fascinating because there were so many different types of Indian dishes and all of them were vegetarian. After I got my food I sat down along everyone else on the floor and started eating. Being raised as a Christian I knew we weren't allowed to eat before going to church services, and we always had to eat after. It was very interesting to learn that all people ate Langar before any religious …show more content…

As we walked in everyone had to bow on their knees in front of the holy book and females were seated on the left side while males were on the right. After everyone took a seat the groom entered followed by the bride dressed in a red and gold sari escorted by her brother, and the ceremony of Anandkaraj begun. This ceremony is known as the "bliss" that starts off with the traditional singing of hymns, which explains the Sikh philosophy of marriage. During all the ceremony a priest was feathering the holy book while the others were singing. At the end of Anandkaraj both the bride and the groom along with their parents stand to say a prayer called (ardas) which is a part of worship service in the Gurdwara. Next followed the Laavan (four prayers) which seal the marriage. During the Laavan the bride and groom walk clockwise around Guru Granth Sahib until the priests finish the prayers. During this ceremony, the groom walks first given one end of palla (red scarf) on his shoulder while the bride follows him holding the other end. After the completion of laavan the couple is showered with flowers and the couple is officially married. The ceremony is ended with ardas and distribution of gurupasad (a sweet treat) to the guests and newlyweds. Having to witness such beautiful ceremony at a such beautiful place of worship intrigued me to learn more about the Sikh

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