What Is Marriage?

Hello,

I read this article. Thank you for sharing.

• Secrets of a Happy Marriage: 7 Proven Ways to Build Lasting Love

I so agree. Yes, marriage is a journey. And I thought about marriage again. What is marriage?

Nowadays, there are different types of marriage. For example,

• Civil Marriage: A legally recognized couple without a religious ceremony.
• Religious Marriage: A couple recognized by a religious institution.
• Interfaith Marriage/Mixed Marriage: A couple belonging to different religions.
• Arranged Marriage: Families select partners.
• Polygamous Marriage: An individual is married to more than one spouse.
• Weekend Marriage: A couple meets on weekends and on selected days.
• Common Law Marriage: A couple may be legally considered married without a formal ceremony or license.
• Trial Marriage: A couple lives together for a period of time.

What is the difference between cohabitation (a couple living together before marriage) and trial marriage?

I am an open-minded person, but I am originally from a traditional family. In my opinion, marriage is a couple legally living together. Because our case was complicated. We have lived together since before marriage (we wanted to be life partners). We belong to different religions, and I haven’t changed my last name even after marriage.

In the 2000s, an unmarried couple living together was not so common among Japanese women. According to the research data in 2004, 2421 Japanese women aged 20–49 show that the number of couples living together before marriage was less than 3% of the partnership distribution.

In some countries, common-law marriage is legal. But I don’t know the difference between cohabitation and a common-law marriage.

I remember my Spanish host mother. She owned an apartment and lived with her kids. Her husband lived in a different place and visited to see them on weekends. They were in a good relationship.

Sometimes I talk to Asian students. In Japan, South Korea, and China, population decline keeps getting worse. Young Asians tend to not want to marry. There are many choices available, so they might not be interested in marriage and having a family.

Photo by Pixabay

@liliflorida on Tumblr