![]() Like The Unity Candle, the mixing of salt between hands symbolizes the joining of two people. He then passes it back to her, and this exchange is repeated three times. A similar Hindu tradition uses salt, where a bride passes a handful of salt to her groom. The tradition of breaking bread –a metaphor for trust –is sometimes done between families. No single culture can claim it as its own.Īt best, it can be speculated that The Unity Candle is a modern variation on many wedding traditions. ![]() The Unity Candle is both nondenominational and secular. Passed on through word of mouth as opposed to long-standing religious traditions. There is staggeringly little documentation of its early uses, making it a modern folk tradition. The origins of this tradition is mired in hearsay. Their fears and mistakes forgotten as they become one whole and new person. In this way, The Unity Candle represents the couples’ old selves being burned away. The burning of the old makes way for new life. But in many ancient traditions fire also represents cleansing. The symbolism of two flames joining together as a single, brighter flame is pretty obvious. The joining of families, the promise of unity (as another vow) and a joining where two people become one. Then, after the vows, the couple each take one candle and together light a third, larger candle. Okay, in those times it was a wreath of herbs and garlic, and the symbolism of purity, wisdom and fertility was eventually transferred to flowers (isn’t it nice to be born in our time?).Ī rite where before the vows, members of both families (usually the parents, but this can be siblings and even close friends) light two candles. Take the bouquet, its use can be traced back to ancient Celtic weddings before being adopted in Rome. Many of these traditions span multiple cultures and have survived for thousands of years. Not just the vows, of course but also things like the cutting of the cake, the use of ring bearers and flower girls, bouquets and even throwing the bouquet. BouquetIf you are in the middle of planning all of the events of the wedding (one: congratulations, and two: breath, you can do this), then you’ve probably noticed there’s a large number of tiny traditions that add up to one big ceremony.
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