What is "The Hora?"

For those of you have never attended a Jewish wedding reception, we need to prep you with a little training here for the wild ride known as the Hora. The Hora happens to be Jessica's favorite part of going to a wedding, so it's important to get it just right - particularly, if you happen to be a male over 180 pounds who can lift stuff.

The Hora is the segment of the reception where the bride, groom, and their parents (yep, that means you mom and dad) get hoisted high the air in a chair and everyone circles around in a festive tornado of mayhem.

The fist step to understanding how this works is to familiarize yourself with the song. Spelling errors aside, the song is called is called Hava Negilah. I bet you didn't know the Beatles performed this on the Ed Sullivan show.



OK, that was fake, but this one actually does include Bob Dylan on harmonica.



Next, all you have to do is follow these simple instructions.

1) Place two chairs in the center of the dance floor when the music begins, and call the bride and groom up to the dance floor to sit in them.

2) Gather and dance in a circle around the couple.

3) A few strong guests lift the bride's and groom's chairs into the air in the midst of the guests.

4) Allow the taller carriers to hold the front of the chairs; shorter ones should hold the back, so that the bride and groom are tilted slightly to help prevent them from falling. This will allow the couple to have their hands free instead of holding on for balance. (It's a good idea to practice lifting the chair in advance so you are prepared.)

5) Provide a scarf and ask the newlyweds to each hold one end. Under tradition, which prevents males and females from dancing together, this allows them to connect without actually touching.

6) Watch the bride and groom dance with the scarf waving between them for a while, then suggest they take turns passing their ends on to others to hold, so special guests can dance with them as well. For instance, the bride might dance with her father, the groom with his mother.

7) Put the poor kids down and make their parents go up there.

Here's the finished product. We have two small requests: 1) don't laugh at us and 2) don't drop us.