KABUL, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 340 grooms and brides tied the knot at a mass wedding ceremony in northern Afghanistan's Samangan province, local media Tolonews reported on Monday.
The ceremony was made possible through the financial support of affluent individuals, with each newly married couple receiving household appliances valued at around 1,360 U.S. dollars, said the source.
Unemployment, the economic crisis, the high cost of lavish dowries and expensive gifts often force young people to wait for years to hold their wedding ceremonies in the impoverished country.
In a similar event, 42 couples celebrated their marriages during a mass wedding ceremony in Kabul, the national capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday.
The Afghan interim government has urged people to refrain from extravagant marriage traditions and to avoid unnecessary expenditures on wedding ceremonies. ■
