Hand Fasting
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Hand Fasting
Are you considering a traditional or alternative wedding ceremony? Have you ever heard of hand fasting? It has seen a revival in the last few decades from the fringe to the mainstream. A hand fasting indicated a betrothal and marriage in medieval times. There are many who interpret a hand fasting as a trial marriage, latching onto the idea that it lasts a year and a day. This concept dates back to a time when divorce was not an option for many couples and fertility was important to the success of a marriage.
As an alternative wedding ceremony, a couple chooses hand fasting because it is a part of their faith and belief to make their commitment to marriage. They are typically surrounded in a circle by the attendees while the minister or priest joins their hands by symbolically tying them together. It honors the trinity of man, woman and the divine and promises the trinity of what will hopefully be man, woman and child.
In this, it is an honest commitment to marriage and not a substitute for it. The venue for the hand fasting can be a living room, a garden or a waterfall - anywhere the couple has chosen. It can be held in the morning, when the first rays of the sun are coming above the horizon - the time honors the start of a new life beginning with the start of a new day.
A hand fasting is a recognized alternative wedding ceremony and still requires a licensed justice of the peace, minister or other legally recognized individual must perform the ceremony unless the couple registers their marriage at a courthouse beforehand.
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