Deck 8: Marriage and Death Rituals

Question 1

________ plays a significant role in promoting and maintaining the social norms associated with marriage.

A) Religious ceremony
B) A vow
C) Ritual
D) Sacrifice
E) An anniversary celebration

Answer 1

Ritual

Question 2

The rituals we associate with marriage, particularly weddings and funerals for spouses, are often ________ observances.

A) societal
B) gender-specific
C) consumer
D) behavioural
E) religious

Answer 2

religious

Question 3

Because fewer people regularly attend religious services today, marriage has become ________

A) more difficult for individuals who wish to marry in a religious environment.
B) the only connection many Canadians have with a religious community.
C) less sacred.
D) less popular.
E) unnecessary.

Answer 3

the only connection many Canadians have with a religious community.

Question 4

The three rites of passage as defined by Van Gennep (1960) are ________

A) separation, union, and liminality.
B) separation, incorporation, and death.
C) marriage, birth, and death.
D) separation, liminality, and incorporation.
E) birth, separation, and incorporation.

Question 5

________ is an example of a rite of progression.

A) An anniversary celebration
B) A birthday party
C) A wedding ceremony
D) A funeral
E) Birth

Question 6

Erving Goffman referred to "rites of progression" as "________"

A) maintenance rites.
B) preservation rites.
C) conservation rites.
D) safeguarded rites.
E) marriage rites.

Question 7

The first bridal shower traces its origins back to ________

A) the Victorian era.
B) sixteenth-century Holland.
C) the Roman Empire.
D) the charivari ritual.
E) the Inuit people.

Question 8

The hostess of a bridal shower, usually the ________, organizes the shower to the bride's expectations.

A) maid of honour
B) bride's mother
C) bride's best friend
D) groom's mother
E) bride

Question 9

The following statement regarding bridal showers is false: ________

A) Traditional bridal showers are planned and attended exclusively by women.
B) The bride is provided with items she will need in her new status as a wife.
C) The gifts the bride receives reflect traditional gender roles (e.g. pots and pans, dishes).
D) Each woman who attends knows her obligations (e.g. the bride takes centre stage during the entire event, the maid of honour organizes the event, and attendees show their support for the coming marriage).
E) The mother of the groom is often the maid of honour.

Question 10

Groomal, or co-ed showers, are a reinforcement of ________

A) male stereotypes.
B) conventional gender roles.
C) changing times.
D) the acceptance of gay marriage.
E) unisexuality.

Question 11

It is suggested by Montemurro (2003) that bachelorette parties incorporate elements from bachelor parties in order to ________

A) confirm the notion that women are virginal.
B) help women "get even" with men.
C) make fun of men.
D) dispel the notion that women are objects.
E) have men attend.

Question 12

In Atlantic Canada, "________" parties reflect the resilience of traditional gender dynamics. They also reflect the woman's success at challenging the hegemony of the gendered constructions of early marriage rituals.

A) John and Jill
B) stag and stagette
C) guy and girl
D) Lord and Lady
E) men and women

Question 13

Traditional weddings were ________ ceremonies that ________

A) public; confirmed the legitimacy of a union.
B) public; allowed the family to sanction a union.
C) religious; enhanced the sense of family cohesion and identity and connection to the religious collective.
D) religious; enhanced the sacredness of a union.
E) religious; enhanced the sense of the permanence of marriage.

Question 14

Some traditional wedding vows include the husband's promise to ________ the wife and the woman's promise to ________ her husband.

A) lead; submit to
B) direct; follow
C) control; mind
D) monitor; comply with
E) guide; obey

Question 15

Biblical accounts of marriage go as far back as ________ and included ________ and the union of ________

A) Genesis; matchmaking; two families.
B) Exodus; ceremonies; two families.
C) Genesis; rituals; Adam and Eve.
D) Exodus; matchmaking; two individuals.
E) Leviticus; rituals; two individuals.

Question 16

In the past, North American weddings were communal celebrations embedded in a system of ________

A) reciprocity.
B) matriarchal control.
C) gender conventions.
D) religious faith.
E) conformity to society.

Question 17

In the past, carrying a bride over the threshold was symbolic. Today it is regarded as ________

A) bad luck.
B) romantic.
C) passé.
D) good luck.
E) a test to the groom's strength.

Question 18

One wedding ritual that has almost disappeared is _______, which entailed forcible separation of the bride from the groom after the marriage and tying old shoes or cans to the rear of their car.

A) charivari
B) the post-wedding gag
C) the wedding prank
D) marriage tricks
E) chivalry

Question 19

Twentieth-century weddings became increasingly consumer oriented. Shissler (2006) refers to this period as ________

A) the reality of the onset of the industrial age.
B) a post-war phenomenon.
C) a symbiotic relationship between cultural tradition and cultural evolution.
D) the symbiosis between consumer culture and romantic love.
E) the succumbing to consumerism over romantic love.

Question 20

As the twentieth century got underway, weddings became more individualized and increasingly included "________" which involved invented traditions or elaborations of older customs.

A) customer rights
B) buyer rights
C) consumer rites
D) purchaser rites
E) heritage rites

Question 21

The ________ is the oldest and most universal marriage symbol.

A) white wedding gown
B) wedding ring
C) bridal bouquet
D) wedding suit
E) wedding reception

Question 22

Traditionally, it was the groom who wore a wedding ring; the practice changed once the ring became associated with ________

A) ownership.
B) domesticity.
C) femininity.
D) fertility.,
E) obedience.

Question 23

By the _______, it was desirable for a man to look married.

A) 1920s
B) 1930s
C) 1940s
D) 1950s
E) 1960s

Question 24

The ________ has achieved a romantic aura while a man's ________ has not.

A) wedding gown; wedding clothes
B) engagement ring; wedding band
C) wedding proposal; commitment
D) wedding planning; contribution
E) wedding vow; commitment

Question 25

During the twentieth century, ________ began to take over the role of female relatives in the wedding-planning process.

A) male relatives
B) wedding planners
C) department stores
D) the bride
E) bridal websites

Question 26

The presence of ________ implies that female members of the family are no long qualified to plan a wedding.

A) wedding organizers
B) mother-in-laws
C) wedding planners
D) bridesmaids
E) a maid of honour

Question 27

In North America, the average cost of a wedding is an estimated _____________

A) $18,250.
B) $23,330.
C) $29,450.
D) $45,000.
E) $60,000.

Question 28

Destination weddings make up about ________ of all Canadian weddings in 2010.

A) 1 per cent
B) 2 per cent
C) 7 per cent
D) 19 per cent
E) 25 per cent

Question 29

A wedding website, known as a "wedsite", is used to ________

A) find a potential romantic partner.
B) communicate details of the wedding.
C) sign up to attend a wedding.
D) show love to a potential partner.
E) plan a wedding.

Question 30

A study by Shari R. Lash (2007) found that for ________ couples planning their wedding, legal entitlement diminished the need for ritual innovation.

A) opposite-sex
B) same-sex
C) transgendered
D) older
E) lesbian

Question 31

In Jewish wedding ceremonies, a chuppah may be used. A chuppah is ________

A) a handwoven rug made by the husband's family.
B) a long scarf that is loosely draped over the couple when they are standing side by side.
C) a chalice used specifically for weddings.
D) a canopy under which the couple stand during the ceremony.
E) a silver wedding candle which is lit during the ceremony.

Question 32

Honeymoons of the nineteenth century were ________

A) community events involving family and friends.
B) planned by the bride.
C) non-existent.
D) religious retreats.
E) getaways for the bride and groom.

Question 33

Funerals, memorial services, and mourning periods are considered to be ________

A) rites of passage.
B) rites of progression.
C) rites of transformation.
D) rites of separation.
E) rites of liminality.

Question 34

"_______" refers to the sense of solidarity and belonging that emerges from the experience of public rites of passage in which the community expresses its support for the celebrants by its presence.

A) Symbolic communitas
B) Fixed events
C) Public revelry
D) Personalized send-offs
E) Symbolic merry-makers

Question 35

In ________ culture, to sit shiva means that a widow or widower refrains from daily activity for a week and is taken care of by family and friends.

A) Indian
B) Japanese
C) Hebrew
D) Jewish
E) Inuit

Question 36

While marriage rituals reinforce gender norms and stereotypes, they also reflect the hyper-individualism that increasingly characterizes society.

Question 37

As fewer people attend religious services on a regular basis (15 per cent in 2005, a decrease from 45 per cent in the 1980s), marriage ceremonies and funerals may be the only connection that many Canadians have with a religious ceremony.

Question 38

Engaged couples are in the liminal state of rites of passage.

Question 39

The honeymoon is an example of a rite of passage that is associated with marriage.

Question 40

Men are more likely to aid in the planning of the honeymoon than in the planning of the wedding.

Question 41

Receiving pots and pans, dishes, linens, and small appliances as gifts reinforce the new wife's responsibility for domestic chores, such as cooking and cleaning.

Question 42

Guests' attendance at a bridal shower demonstrates social solidarity and symbolizes support for the coming marriage.

Question 43

Women feel an obligation to participate in bridal showers even though many of them find it boring to attend.

Question 44

Co-ed showers resemble cocktail parties rather than the ritualized format that characterizes bridal showers.

Question 45

Although bachelorette parties are meant to depict gender equality, the women tend to act in sexually subjective ways that place them in patriarchal roles.

Question 46

The bachelorette party mimics and mocks the bachelor party by interpreting the sexual elements as comical rather than sensual.

Question 47

The development of Jack and Jill parties may reflect women's success at challenging gendered construction of early marriage rituals.

Question 48

In the past, the custom of a father giving away the bride signified that the father was giving ownership of his daughter to her new husband.

Question 49

A bride is encouraged to wear a white dress and accessorize with flowers to represent her fertility.

Question 50

Men and women have always symbolized their married status by wearing wedding rings.

Question 51

The epitome of the association of romantic love with consumer culture was the 2011 wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Question 52

The custom of the bride wearing a white wedding dress originated with Queen Victoria in 1840.

Question 53

Preserving a wedding dress is an example of conspicuous consumption that is often seen these days.

Question 54

The evolution of the department store wedding bureau and wedding consultants has led to weddings becoming more of a consumer rite than a communal rite.

Question 55

A study by Sharon Boden (2003) showed that brides plan most of the wedding while the grooms are largely incompetent.

Question 56

Transitional couples fully share in the planning and responsibility of their wedding day.

Question 57

Celebrity weddings contribute to the consumer culture of weddings that is evident today.

Question 58

Individualism is rampant in twenty-first-century society, and individuals think that they are rebelling against the wider culture by buying into practices like destination weddings and wedsites that celebrate the uniqueness of a couple rather than their integration into social life.

Question 59

LGBTQ couples publicly announce their relationship through commitment ceremonies.

Question 60

Bahá'í weddings are illegal in Canada due to the absence of a clergy.

Question 61

Like weddings, honeymoons have come to symbolize the bride's dream experience and the couple as passionate consumers.

Question 62

Traditional wedding anniversary gifts have changed as a result of the contemporary consumer society.

Question 63

In traditional Indian culture, a widow was expected to jump onto the funeral pyre and be cremated with her husband.

Question 64

Funerals continue to be less commercialized than weddings as the clergy tends to dominate the funeral process.

Question 65

While weddings have changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, funerals have generally remained the same in their practices and rituals.

Question 66

Queen Elizabeth is credited with establishing appropriate mourning dress in England and Canada.

Question 67

During Queen Victoria's time, there were rigid guidelines for widows' dress, but widowers had more latitude and mourned for a shorter period of time.

Question 68

Victorian widowhood was another sphere in which women figured as the pillar of home and society.

Question 69

Parting ceremonies have been created for widowed couples as an alternative to the traditional funeral.

Question 70

During a parting ceremony, the past relationship is carefully honoured, difficult feelings are truthfully shared, and the future is gracefully accepted.
Short

Question 71

Why are marriage rituals important in societies?

Question 72

What is the difference between rites of passage and rites of progression?

Question 73

What is a co-ed shower?

Question 74

Describe stag parties and groomal showers.

Question 75

What was the purpose of the charivari wedding ritual?

Question 76

Discuss how the use and meaning of wedding rings have evolved.

Question 77

Describe the issues surrounding male engagement rings.

Question 78

What is meant by 'trashing the dress'?

Question 79

Barnes (2008) identified new made-up rituals that have become common in contemporary weddings. Discuss two of these made-up rituals.

Question 80

According to Humble, Zvonkovic, and Walker (2008), what are the three approaches to wedding planning?