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Palestine
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People and Culture
Because the situation in Israel forced many Palestinians from their homes, they are a stateless people in that they have no homeland and many of them live in refugee camps. There are about 7.5 million Palestinians throughout the world and over 4.5 million of them are refugees.
Most Palestinians are children, and because the status of ‘refugee’ is inherited, children born to registered refugees are also considered refugees. Over half of the Palestinian population are under the age of 15 and many have had very difficult lives, living in conditions of daily conflict and poverty.
Traditions
Marriage
In some villages in Palestine, it used to be the tradition to have an arranged marriage. Before the groom’s family approached the bride’s family, the women from each family would come to an agreement as a way of avoiding any families rejecting one another. If the groom was accepted by the bride’s family, a dowry would be agreed and the first chapter of the Qu’ran would be read as a blessing.
The wedding celebrations would last from between one week to one month! Celebrations would involve feasting and gift giving, including food, gold and furniture. All the wedding clothes would be made by hand and would include a lot of decoration. One the day before the wedding, women in the village would spray the bride and groom’s clothes with perfume.
