hand fasting
Ancient wedding ritual
Handfasting is a ceremony in which two people's hands are bound together with cord or ribbon, symbolizing their commitment to each other.
The practice has roots in Celtic tradition and was once a form of betrothal or trial marriage.
Today it appears primarily in Pagan and Wiccan wedding ceremonies, though secular couples also adopt it: They chose handfasting for their woodland wedding.
The bound hands are the origin of the phrase "tying the knot."
- weddingMarriage rite and feast
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- tying the knotGetting married
- bindingLegally or morally required
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
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hand fastinglegal marriage
Officially sanctioned spousal union
civil marriage · church wedding · civil ceremony · courthouse wedding · matrimony
hand fastingdivorce
Legal end of matrimony
separation · annulment · dissolution · breaking up · parting ways
hand fastingcivil marriage
Government-sanctioned spousal union
legal marriage · marriage license · civil union · common-law marriage · casual dating
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