Sample Translations
Seon-hee Kim Just Married E ng l i s h
Book Information
Just Married (우리 결혼했어요!) Hyeonamsa Publishing corp./ 2012 / 6 p. / ISBN 9788932373362 73380 For further information, please visit: http://library.klti.or.kr/node/772
This sample translation was produced with support from LTI Korea. Please contact the LTI Korea Library for further information. library@klti.or.kr
Just Married Written by Seon-hee Kim, Illustrated by Mi-hee Kim
Whose name rubbed off the most?: Greece The bride wears a crown of flowers and circles the altar three times at Greek Orthodox weddings
Greece is a country in the Mediterranean with beautiful sunny weather all year round. Greek weddings are just as beautiful as the Mediterranean climate. Toula is going to be a bridesmaid at her aunt’s wedding. Bridesmaids follow the bride around, helping with her dress, and sprinkle rice and bits of colorful paper on her after the wedding to wish her a happy life. Somebody is standing in front of Toula, however, hiding her from everyone’s view. He is the koumbaros, or witness, who is in charge of crowning the bride and groom with garlands of flowers. The koumbaros is usually the groom’s godfather or best friend. Toula knows that the koumbarous plays an important part in the wedding, but she is unhappy that the wedding guests cannot see her pretty dress because of him. Greek weddings are usually held at night at church, on a Saturday or a Sunday. On the evening of the wedding, the groom and the koumbaros go to fetch the bride from her house. The bride walks to the church holding arms with the groom and the koumbaros, while their guests follow behind, playing music and singing festive songs. Toula feels very excited. It is going to be a grand wedding, with the twilight settling down on the sea in the distance. In front of the doors of the church, the bride’s father takes her arm and walks her down the aisle. The groom is already inside, waiting for the bride.
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The wedding begins when the bride reaches the groom. After the bride and groom light candles and exchange rings, the koumbaros crowns them with garlands of flowers joined together by a satin ribbon. Toula thinks the bride looks like a Greek goddess with her crown. The bride and groom kiss a bible and turn around the altar three times. Now it is Toula’s big moment.
She must sprinkle the newlyweds with rice so they will have lots of children.
Toula also sprinkles them with colored paper that she had cut into little pieces. She felt very important when she was throwing the colorful bits of paper. What a lovely wedding! Now the ceremony at the church is over. The real party starts not at the ceremony, but at the reception. After the ceremony, all the guests leave the church and go to the reception nearby. Everybody holds hands and dances with the bride. They clap and dance and have a good time, and also give gifts to the bride and groom. People also play funny games at the reception, and there is a big revelation at the very end. When the singing and dancing is over, everyone gathers around the bride to see the names on the soles of her shoes. Before the wedding it is customary for the bride to write the names of friends and relatives on the soles of her shoes. Legend has it that the person whose name has rubbed off the most will be the next to marry. In some countries they say that the next person to marry is the one who receives the wedding bouquet. But whose name do you think rubbed off the most from the soles of the bride’s shoes? Could it be Toula’s?
Why do people have bridesmaids at weddings? While bridesmaids were not traditionally part of Korean weddings, many Korean brides have bridesmaids these days. Western weddings often include both bridesmaids and groomsmen.
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It is hard to say exactly how the tradition of bridesmaids originated. Some people say that it was to protect the bride in the olden days, when bride-stealing was common, and some people say that it was to confuse evil spirits that might want to harm the bride. In ancient Rome, it was common for spurned suitors to try to kidnap the bride, so the law required there to be at least ten bridesmaids at a wedding. This tells us that the tradition of bridesmaids is very old, indeed. Bridesmaids are not supposed to dress more beautifully than the bride, so as to not steal the attention from the bride on her wedding day. If the bride is obviously the most beautiful woman at the wedding, however, and the evil spirits cannot mistake her for anyone else, don’t you think it defeats the purpose of having bridesmaids?
On the day of the wedding, the bride and groom bathe in holy water On the day of the wedding, the bride and groom bathe in water from Callirrhoe, a holy spring. This is a Greek tradition believed to bring the couple good luck and many children. They also sprinkle the newlyweds with rice and bits of colored paper at the wedding, an ancient tradition to wish the couple good fortune. Greek weddings are usually held at night. The bride dresses up beautifully for her wedding night, covers herself with a veil, and marches to the cathedral with the groom, relatives, and friends. Relatives usually carry presents, and the bride’s mother follows with a torch. Movies like Mamma Mia! and My Big Fat Greek Wedding do a fairly good job of depicting these kind of customs. In ancient Greece, brides performed rituals before the wedding to symbolize their passage from girlhood to womanhood. They would cut their hair, or burn clothes they used to
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wear, or bathe in a holy spring and offer a lock of their hair to the gods.
The bride offers everyone wine and confetti: Italy Traditional Catholic weddings in Italian cathedrals 4 In Italy, when a girl is born, one of the first things the family does is make wine. This is the wine to serve at the girl’s wedding when she grows up. Giovanna’s Mama made some for her daughters, too. She made some when Giovanna’s older sister was born, and again when Giovanna was born. Giovanna’s sister left their native Sicily a while ago to work for a design company in Milan, but she always wanted to get married in the old cathedral in her hometown. So she came back home a few days ago for her wedding. The day of the wedding started with a bouquet of flowers sent by the groom for the bride. The bouquet was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the bride, Giovanna’s sister. According to custom, the groom must not see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding ceremony. The groom’s smile almost split his face in two when he finally saw Giovanna’s sister enter the cathedral on her father’s arm. Giovanna’s sister looked very beautiful in her dress. The white color of the bride’s dress symbolizes purity and virginity. Giovanna was also impressed by how beautiful her sister looked in her white dress. It was very touching to see their father weeping as he escorted Giovanna’s sister down the aisle. In general, Italians are not afraid of expressing emotions like happiness or sadness (in some countries, people wear sunglasses at funerals to hide their tears, but not in Italy). At the altar, the bride kneels on the left side of the groom. The wedding has begun. The groom and bride exchange rings, putting them on the ring fingers of their left hands, and sign
the wedding contract with their witnesses. The next moment the pipe organ begins to play and a flurry of camera flashes go off. Giovanna’s sister burst into tears. Actually, everyone in the family was crying tears of joy. The family shower the bride and groom with rice and sweets to wish them a prosperous life. Then it is time for the reception! The wedding ceremony was held at the cathedral, but the reception is going to be outdoors, on a hill with a few of the sea. The bride and groom take a ride around town in a car decorated with flowers and white ribbons before arriving at the reception. Their friends drive behind them, beeping their horns noisily. At the reception, the table groans from the weight of all the food. A great bunch of grapes occupy a place of honor in the middle. The wedding cake, frosted in whipped cream, gleams as white as the bride’s wedding dress. The bride and groom cut the cake, kiss each other, and drink a big glass of wine to the applause of their guests. Now it is time to serve the cake and wine to the guests. The bride serves the wine herself, the same wine her mother made the year she was born. The groom follows the bride with a silver platter of confetti (candied almonds traditionally given to wedding guests). The guests eat, drink, and make merry for a long time. Some of them played games. The bride and groom played at swapping the different kinds of work they would usually do, so as to understand each other better. With the party in full swing, it is time for the newlyweds to leave their guests to go on their honeymoon. Before leaving they take another drive in their car decorated with flowers and white ribbons, with their friends following them and making lots of noise. Finally the bride and groom leave on their trip. Giovanna waved for a long time as she watched them go. The rest of the guests stayed at the reception long after the newlyweds departed, dancing to the music played by the band. Never let it be said that Italians don’t know how to throw a party.
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Wine and Italy Wine production in Italy goes back over 3,000 years ago, from ancient Roman. Italy has the most surface area devoted to vineyards in the world after Spain and France, and is neck to neck with France in terms of wine production, consumption, and exports. Italians feel that wine is essential to a good meal, and so of course it would be unthinkable to have a wedding without wine. It would be safe to say that wine is a part of most social events in Italy.
The Marriage Contract It is customary for Italian weddings to be held at a church or cathedral near the bride’s house. The bride and groom usually go to the town hall to file the necessary paperwork before the wedding and sign their wedding contract at the cathedral in the presence of a priest. Historically, weddings were held at churches or cathedrals in order to make vows to one another. People believed that making vows to always love and be faithful to one another in front of God would make their union stronger and longer-lasting. The wedding contract is also signed by a witness as well as the bride and groom, and sometimes couples will ask someone from the wedding party, ideally a close friend, to be their witness.
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