Marriage

Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws, as well as society in general. The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is principally an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity. When defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal.

Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal, social, libidinal, emotional, financial, spiritual, and religious purposes. Whom they marry may be influenced by socially determined rules of incest, prescriptive marriage rules, parental choice and individual desire. In some areas of the world, arranged marriage, child marriage, polygamy, and sometimes forced marriage, may be practiced as a cultural tradition. Conversely, such practices may be outlawed and penalized in parts of the world out of concerns for women's rights and because of international law. In developed parts of the world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal rights within marriage for women and legally recognizing the marriages of interfaith or interracial, and same-sex couples. These trends coincide with the broader human rights movement.

Matrimony (disambiguation)

Matrimony may refer to:

See also

Matrimony (solitaire)

Matrimony is a solitaire card game: which uses two decks of 52 playing cards each. It is a difficult game which depends mostly on luck and is sometimes mechanical. It is also one of the many games where there are no clear rules but with two versions. The one described below is laid out by Peter Arnold in his book Card Games for One (ISBN 0-600-60727-5).

One Q♦ and one J♦ are taken out of the deck to form the foundations. As they become available during the deal, the two J♥ and the four black 10s (two 10♠ and two 10♣) are placed beside the two cards already present also form the foundations. After that, sixteen cards are dealt into two rows of eight cards each, forming the bases for the sixteen tableau piles. The foundations and the tableau may look like this:

The Q♦ is built up to Jack, and all other foundations are built down, with the Jacks up to Queens and the Tens up to Jacks, all by suit and all round-the-corner, i.e. putting a king over an ace and vice versa. The cards to be used to build on these eight foundations are those put on the piles. The top card of each pile is available for play.