Marriage Is Not Gazing Into Each Other's Eyes

This past weekend we were set up selling my wife's handcrafted gourds at the World's Largest Gourd Show in Mt. Gilead, Ohio.

While there we were invited to attend a wedding performed by a Micmac teacher in a traditional way. The bride and groom stood during the ceremony both wrapped in the same blanket. There was an exchange of traditional foodstuffs from the bride to the groom, and the groom to the bride. It ended with the newly wed couple giving gifts to the guests. A giveaway is often practiced at Native American ceremonies rather than accepting gifts.

The ceremony was held on a beautiful autumn day under a large sycamore tree that was estimated to be 200 years old.

As part of the teaching that the elder gave before the ceremony, he said, "Marriage is not gazing into each other's eyes, it is looking in the same direction. "