Bachelor parties

A bachelor party, also known as a stag party, stag night, stag do, stag weekend (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia) is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom". A bachelor party is usually planned by the best man, occasionally with the assistance of a bachelor party planning company. The party is usually restricted to men only, but sometimes may feature female company such as strippers or topless waitresses.

The equivalent event for the bride-to-be is known as a bachelorette party or hens' night.

Some also choose instead to hold a so-called stag and doe party in the US, or a hag party or hag do in the UK ("hag" being a combination of the words "hen" and "stag"), in which both the bride and groom attend.

In Germany, this event is called Junggesellenabschied, which literally means "farewell to bachelorhood." There is also a separate event that the couple celebrates together on the evening prior to their wedding, called Polterabend. At the Polterabend the guests break old porcelain and earthenware to bring luck to the couple's marriage. The tradition is said to go back to pre-Christian times; by noisily breaking ceramics evil spirits – especially spirits of envy – are supposed to be driven out. In the last couple of years, Anglo-style bachelor parties have become more and more popular among bachelors. In parts of northern Germany that lack a Carnival tradition, funny costuming has become a popular part of bachelor or bachelorette parties.

Some parts of Germany have a related custom, in which a person who is not yet married by their 30th birthday, is made to dress up in an embarrassing fashion by their friends and to do silly tasks that most often include some kind of cleaning work.

In France and in many French-speaking regions such as Quebec, the bachelor party is called enterrement de vie de garçon, which literally means "(the) burial of the life as a boy" or "burial/funeral of the life as a bachelor". For women it is enterrement de vie de jeune fille, translated as "burial/funeral of the life as a young girl/maiden". As in English-speaking countries, such parties often feature heavy drinking and various (although gentle) humiliations, and sometimes the presence of a stripper.

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