Henna Night
The Evening Party of The Bride or The Groom
Al Henna is a dye prepared from a tree known as Henna tree. It has been used to dye skin, hair and fingernails. Dying both the bride and the groom’s hands is one of the main rituals of the wedding. The gathering for the Henna night will normally be arranged on a day shortly before the wedding party. Friends and relatives of the bride gather in her house, whereas friends and relatives of the groom gather in the groom’s house. The Henna paste will be brought by a man or a woman on a plate decorated with flowers. This will be accompanied with singing and dancing of the participants. Woman normally ululate and trill cries of joy.
Some of the close friends of the bride and groom apply the Henna to the hands and/or feet of the bride and groom. This whole process is accompanied with trilling cries of joy, singing and dancing the main traditional dance the Dabkka. Fireworks, gun firing, playing drums are also activities that characterize the traditional evening party of the bride and the groom. The main purpose of these ceremonies is the announcement of the wedding. However, some of these activities, are excluded by some people today.
Unlike in the present time, in the past, these activities carried were highly evaluated, but now these activities began to disappear. Many young people celebrate their weddings without having a Henna Party.