Oczepiny
The Polish midnight rite in which the bride is capped and becomes a married woman, with games for the guests.
Also: czepiny, capping ceremony
Oczepiny is a Polish wedding custom, usually held around midnight at the reception, in which the bride's veil is taken off and she is given a cap, a czepek, in the past a sign of a married woman. Today the ceremony is mostly a lively series of games with the veil, with unmarried women, and sometimes unmarried men, taking part in a throwing of the veil to see who will marry next. The rite is accompanied by songs and by a band. Its form varies from region to region in Poland and among Polish communities abroad.
Region: Europe