Making a “date” commits you to doing something, such as going to a movie, going dancing or having dinner.In a college setting, you may be used to just “hanging out” with others.

In the United Kingdom, a poll of 3,000 While the date is fairly casual in most European-influenced cultures, in some traditional societies, courtship is a highly structured activity, with very specific formal rules. In some African tribes, the bride and groom have their wrists tied together with cloth or braided grass to represent their marriage. To honor their ancestors, some Africans pour Holy water, or alcohol, onto the ground as prayers are recited to the ancestral spirits. The bride wears a veil made of plaited hair which represents reserve. The people present wear traditional regional costumes. The couple jumps above a brush covered with flowers, which symbolizes the starting of domestic life. The Kola nut is most often used for medicinal purposes in Africa. The Kola nut symbolizes the couple's willingness to always help heal each other. Traditionally, marriage was between paternal first cousins or other patrilineally related kin. It was customary for potential spouses not to meet before the wedding night, and marriages had to be arranged by fathers, mothers, and other relatives.In Nigeria, the ceremony is not complete until a kola nut is shared between the couple and their parents. These practices are changing slowly and unevenly, but the tendency is toward fewer close-cousin marriages and for the couple to communicate with each other before the wedding. The bride wears an elaborate veil and gets her hands and feet decorated with a drawing made with alhea (henna). During the reception, men and women stay separated. Men are allowed to have four wives at a time as long as they can treat them equally, but polygyny is uncommon in most of the population. Auspicious days are subject to interpretation by fortune tellers that perform the analysis based on one’s birth date (day and hour) after consultation with the Chinese almanac. The familiar tradition of a flower girl throwing rose petals as she passes down the aisle before the bride is a reminder of days gone by when the bride walked to the church with her maids in waiting. These people will have dates on a regular basis, and they may or may not be having sexual relations.This period of courtship is sometimes seen as a precursor to engagement or marriage.