Monday, May 16, 2011

ANCIENT OR MODERN CUSTOMS TO INCLUDE IN TODAY’S WEDDING CEREMONY


A contemporary popular addition in today’s wedding ceremony is to include a symbolic ritual between the bride and groom.  This custom can have ancient or modern roots and come from a variety of cultural traditions such as :

Hand Fasting   

An ancient wedding ritual often associated with Celtic or Pagan roots.  The wrists of the bride and groom were tied together during the ceremony until the pledge had been made between them at which time the couple are untied.   However, some traditions the cord was not untied until the marriage was consummated!

Today, the Hand Fasting ritual (also referred to as Handfasting or Hand Tying) typically consists of tying the right hands of the couple to be to be married with ribbon(s), chord or sash while they exchange their vows. 

At the recent Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London, William and Kate’s hands were bound together with a golden sash by the Archbishop of Canterbury as he proclaimed them to be joined as husband and wife.  

The colors selected for the cord, ribbon or sash for the Hand Fasting ceremony each have a significant meaning:  
 

White is for peace, sincerity and devotion
Grey is for balance and neutrality
Gold is for intelligence, energy, prosperity, and longevity
Silver is for values, creativity and protection
Light Blue is for understanding and patience
Dark Blue is a safe journey and longevity
Pink is for romance, honor, partnership and happiness
Purple is for sentimentality, faithfulness and goodness
Green is for health, prosperity, luck, fertility and beauty
Red is for courage, strength, passion and fertility
Yellow is for wisdom and harmony
Brown is for earth, grounding, telepathy and home
Black is for wisdom, vision, success and strength