Interviewer: Do you have any other unique customs or traditions that are particular to your Jewish community?

SS: Yes one off too the top of my head is breaking glass at weddings.

Interviewer: What exactly happens?

SS: At the end of the wedding ceremony the newlyweds will traditionally stomp on some sort of glass together.

Interviewer: When did you learn of this tradition or first see it?

SS: Everyone who’s Jewish pretty much knows it, but I think I first saw it at my uncle’s wedding when I was seven or eight years old. 

Interviewer: Is there anything particular about the glass or the manner with which they stomp it?

SS: Yes, it depends at some weddings I have been too it has been a glass cup, usually it’s a plate in between a napkin, but I’ve even seen it be a light bulb. Also at some weddings, it’s only the groom who does the breaking, but that was more common in the past, now the tradition is usually both the bride and the groom doing it. 

Interviewer: Do you know what the meaning of this tradition is?

SS: Yes, it is used to signify how fragile relationships can be and how easily they can be broken but by breaking the glass it serves as good luck to the marriage never breaking. 

Context:  I received this explanation of a Jewish wedding custom from an 18-year-old male Jewish from Los Angeles. He practices Judaism and been raised in a Jewish household his entire life. This interview was done in person at the USC Leavey Library. 

Analysis: This marriage custom is a unique one that I was familiar with though seeing it in some movies but I was unaware of the meaning and manner of how it happens. It is interesting that it is used to signify luck for the marriage and that although it is done at almost all traditional Jewish weddings but can be done in different ways.