My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding

One of my favourite shows that I love watching on Sunday nights is My Big Fat American Gypsy wedding. I love learning about gypsy culture, and what I find so fascinating about Gypsy culture is that it is so hidden

Ever since I was little I had known of the word “Gypsy”, yet I had no idea what that meant, and if Gypsy people actually existed. Well, thanks to TLC, I have learned that yes, Gypsies are real, and they like in The United States as well as Brazil, Portugal and the UK.

One of the things that I find interesting about Gypsy culture is that they are part of a white cultural minority in America, which is something that is very rare.  Taking a look at a Gypsy person, first glance you would have no idea that they are part of a minority group different from main stream culture. Although but once you learn about the Gypsy way of life you quickly realize their culture is far from ordinary.

One distinguishable characteristic of Gypsy culture that sets them apart from the rest is early marriage. Gypsy girls are expected to stay virgins until they marry, and they usually marry between the ages of 16-20. The women are expected to stay home and take care of the children, while the men go out to work. Gypsy people are encouraged to marry only other gypsy people, and girl are not a loud to talk to boys unless at special events such as weddings and birthday parties. The girls must also be chaperoned by a male relative when going out to big evening events.

A lot of people may look at the Gypsy lifestyle and think it’s a little bit old fashioned, but I guess that is because many people cannot relate to this way of life. Surprisingly the old fashioned lifestyle that gypsy people choose is nothing out of the ordinary in a lot of other cultures. It may seem a little backwards to some, but it works it works for them.  

Source: Slippy at: http://www.geograph.org.uk

Source used: The UK Sun: The Life of a Gypsy Community