marriage is becoming less hidebound, less dutiful and less obligatory—but even more important, ballet, shaky, marriage lite, banns( of marriage), platinum wedding

Watch: In “Twilight’s Kiss,” a 70-year-old Hong Kong taxi driver and a retiree try to find love together — a look at a hidden romance that comes late and is burdened by a lifetime of hidebound norms.

Marriage is becoming less hidebound, less dutiful and less obligatory—but even more important From the archive  

ECONOMIST.COM


Much of what people think they know about marriage is wrong

Offering marriage-lite agreements for couples may reduce marriage-induced poverty

How laws around the world deal with cohabiting couples when they split

Policymakers wish they could change the trend. Unmarried parents are more likely to split up.

ECON.ST

Cambodian royal ballet has been a part of Cambodian traditions for more than a millennium, and has long been used to celebrate royal funerals, marriages and coronations. The ballet utilizes four stock characters: Sva the monkey, Yeak the giant, Neang the woman and Neayrong the man, each of which can be distinguished by masks, gestures and costumes.

Couple mark platinum wedding

A couple are about to celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary as the Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 60 years of marriage.

 platinum wedding英制 白金婚慶

ballet
noun [C or U]
(a theatrical work with) a type of dancing where carefully organized movements tell a story or express an idea:
a ballet dancer
By the age of fifteen he had already composed his first ballet (= music for a ballet).

balletic
adjective
balletic movements




shake (WEAKEN)
verb [T] shook, shaken
to make less certain or firm or strong; to weaken:
What has happened has shaken the foundations of her belief.
After six defeats in a row, the team's confidence has been badly shaken.
This discovery may shake (up) traditional theories on how mountains are formed.

shaky 
adjective
not firm or strong:
The building's foundations are rather shaky, and it could collapse at any time.
The government is taking these steps to try to improve the country's shaky economy.
Their marriage looks pretty shaky to me.
I think you're on very shaky ground with that argument.

marriage lite

noun [countable/uncountable] informal

a relationship or civil status which is similar to marriage, but does not have the same legal implications

'Civil unions would become a sort of "marriage lite". You could enter into them and take advantage of the legal benefits, but then leave them whenever you wanted. No messy divorces. No marital property laws. No alimony payments. No child support. All the benefits of marriage without any of the hassle.'

WORLD MAGAZINE 28TH FEBRUARY 2004

The number of people who are married has dropped steadily since the 1950s, and it is more than likely that in years to come, unmarried couples will outnumber married couples, a situation unprecedented in history. Over the last few decades, the English language has needed to respond to such changing trends and find new ways of describing committed relationships between two individuals, which do not always entail a legal marriage ceremony. For instance, the phrasal verb live together has taken on a very particular meaning, and legal systems have embraced terms such as common-law husband/wife. The term marriage lite is one of the latest coinages in this context. 

banns of marriage：結婚預告；婚姻公告：主教（團）規定婚禮前若干日，以語言或文字將結婚者之詳細資料，在舉行婚禮之教堂公佈，以防止重婚或其它致使此婚姻無效或不合法等阻礙發生（參閱法典1067）。

banns
━━ n.pl. （教会の）婚姻予告.
ask [call, publish] the banns　婚姻予告をする.
forbid the banns　結婚に異議を申立てる.

a public announcement of an intended marriage to allow advance notice should someone desire to protest. In medieval and colonial times, many churches would read the banns on three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage