It is a powerful declaration of love and camaraderie that are true commitment ceremonies. Cultures around the world have established their own way to celebrate such unions, each one laden with history, meaning and tradition. These ceremonies do not necessarily equate to wedding laws, but they consist of essential, heartfelt messages about the importance of personal vows, spirituality-based unions, and local culture acknowledgement. This is a look into some of the different ways commitment ceremonies are celebrated across cultures.
Celtic Traditions: Handfasting
Handfasting is an ancient practice and a symbolic ritual in Celtic traditions. The couple’s hands are tied together with cords or ribbons as a sign of their union. Commonly depicted in more natural surroundings, this act focuses on a divine connection between two people.
The cords are made in colours symbolic of a certain virtue; green for fertility, blue for loyalty and red for passion. Handfasting ceremonies are often blessed by nature — perhaps the elements earth, air, fire, and water called upon to protect this union.
Jumping the Broom and its significance to African-Americans
The custom of jumping the broom has its origins in African and African-American heritage. At this point in the ceremony, the couple jumps over a broomstick that is placed flat on the ground. It represents a cleansing of the past and taking the next steps forward together.
Usually filled with celebratory music and community gatherings, this centuries–old tradition that came about in eras when African-American couples were not given the legal option to marry each other. Now, it stands as a strong tribute to history and survival.
Chinese Tea Ceremony
A tea ceremony is a large part of traditional commitment rituals in Chinese culture. The couple pours tea to their elders as a symbol of respect and gratitude. The elders will in return bless the union and probably give a gift (red envelope with money or some meaningful yet expensive jewellery)
Tea served during the ceremony is also sometimes imbued with symbolic ingredients, such as lotus seeds for fertility or red dates for a sweet life together. It places an emphasis on family which is an integral part of a couple owning their particular journey.
Laying the Sand During Indigenous Ceremonies
Sand ceremonies take on special significance for Indigenous cultures, offering a beautiful symbol of coming together. The pair each receive a vessel of coloured sand which they pour into a larger communal vessel, their sands become intertwined, forming unique patterns as they fall.
This act represents the unbroken nature of their two lives; similar to how sand cannot be separated, so will their lives not be. Many weddings conduct the sand ceremony outside where it may reflect a special connection to the land or community.
Why Do Jews Smash Glass at Weddings?
Breaking the glass is an emotionally charged ritual event in Jewish commitment ceremonies. After the vows have been exchanged, the glass is crushed underfoot by either the groom (or both partners, in some cases).
It’s an interpretation that includes, among other things, the tenuousness of a relationship, the ruin of the old Temple in Jerusalem and bittersweet celebration over life. Party goers yell out “Mazel Tov!” followed by “pour one out” congratulating everyone on a party time
Middle Eastern and South Asian cultural henna rituals
Henna ceremonies are festive and colourful parties that occur before the commitment, called Mehndi in South Asia and Henna Night in Middle Eastern traditions. Henna designs are carefully applied to cover the bride’s hands and feet, signifying beauty, happiness and protection from evil spirits.
They are typically vibrant celebrations that include music, dancing, and food, showcasing the community’s involvement in providing their support for the couple’s new journey.
Unity candle ceremonies are more frequently found in Christian traditions.
A unity candle is a common tradition in Christian commitment ceremonies. The bride and groom light smaller candles, then use those candles to ignite a bigger candle in the middle.
The joining of two lives into one, often with prayers and blessings. For many couples, the smaller candles are lit by family members signifying their support.
Knot-Tying Ceremony in the Filipino Culture
During traditional Filipino ceremonies, the couple will have their hands bound with a cord or veil held over them by a family elder or officiant. This practice, called the yugal signifies tying two lives together in love.
The act is often a symbolic gesture, further solidified by some form of arrangement (arrhae) coined between the parties to signify shared wealth and accountability.
Tree Plantings in Environmentally Aware Societies
In teeming lands and the communities that really practise eco responsibility, planting a tree is one of the most beautiful and significant ritual activities during commitment ceremonies. Together they plant a sapling — the budding growth of their love and joint responsibility for caring for Mother Earth.
The tree stands as a symbol of their relationship, it flourishes and becomes more resilient through the years, just like them.
Maori traditional blessings
For example, in Maori culture of New Zealand commitment ceremonies will be held that include blessings and the hongi (the joining of noses and foreheads).
Hongi is the traditional Māori greeting which shares breath and life with one another— unity and honour. Ceremonies can also involve sacred chants and ancestral offerings, merging spiritual with cultural aspects of the ceremony.
Feasts: Symbolic in the Native Hawaiian world
After a ritual of reconciliation and unity called ho’oponopono, Hawaiian commitment ceremonies often include a symbolic feast. The Couple Exchanges Leis — symbolising their love and devotion to each other before prayers are offered in blessing of their union.
The ceremonies occur in beautiful natural settings highlighting their commitment to the balance of nature and the sacredness of their union.
Conclusion
There are as many ways to celebrate a commitment between two people and combining lives as there are cultures in the world, and commitment ceremonies reflect the diversity of human culture. From jumping the broom, planting a tree or blending the sand these rituals illustrate that humans around the world share an innate desire to honour and solidify connections made between couples.
As the global appreciation deepens, people are increasingly drawn to these customs, taking parts of different traditions and adding it together with other things to form a ceremony that they see themselves in. These unique occasions serve to remind us that love itself knows no boundaries and recognizes both the uniqueness of each individual and the commonality of our shared humanity.
With a commitment ceremony such a perfect opportunity to get creative and fuse cultural elements to make it uniquely your own, here are some traditions from around the world that might inspire you.
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