Pomak weddings are three-day traditional celebrations including feasts, dancing, and display of the brides dowry. On the third day of the wedding, women at the bride's home cover her face with a thick layer of facial cream. Then they stick sequins into the cream and cover the bride with a red veil. Holding a mirror in her hands, the girl closes her eyes and steps across the threshold of her father's house to take the hand of her future husband.
Various theories try to explain the meaning of this exotic ritual. Some believe that the mirror protects the bride from "evil eye," while others claim that it connects her to her dead ancestors. Anthropologists believe it is yet another variation on an initiation rite in which a girl becomes a woman and her social status is changed forever. As far as the bride's white face is concerned, Ribnovo locals have their own legend: In earlier times boys would go with their fathers into the mountains to herd sheep, only returning to the village when they were ready to get married. Since this rough lifestyle afforded them only minimal experience with women, they somehow had to learn to be gentle. Thus, the groom's first task after the wedding – then as now – is to carefully wash his wife's face with milk.
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