Celtic wedding are an perfect way of showing your being a Celt. It is also a way of incorporating traditional values, symbols, themes and customs into major events in your life. However, Celtic wedding are hugely popular not only among people with a Celtic tradition, but among other couples who are taken by the ancient Celtic culture.
Celtic wedding have traditional symbolic motifs, often based on the Celtic knot. Welsh, Irish and Scottish families will sometimes marry in ancient buildings like castles or old manors, but that is not the standard. A traditional Celtic wedding is not greatly different from a normal British wedding in a lot of ways.
However, the number of similarities between Celtic wedding traditions and normal British-style weddings goes a lot further than that. If you want a traditional British style wedding, you will be going unwittingly for a Celtic wedding. But you can beef up the Celtic element of the wedding ritual even further without sinking into silly theatrics.
This is a traditional Celtic poem about when to marry:
Marry when the year is new, Always loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You may wed, nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, Joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for maiden and for man.
Marry in the month of May, You will surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses blow, Over land and sea you'll go.
They who in July do wed, Must labour always for their bread.
Whoever wed in August be, Many a change are sure to see.
Marry in September's shine, Your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, Love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, Only joy will come, remember.
When December's showers fall fast, Marry and true love will last.
Here are a few other traditions:
Loving Cup: The traditional cup is a two-handled bowl with Celtic designs engraved onto it. The idea of the Loving Cup ceremony is for the bride and groom to share their first drink together as husband and wife and to demonstrate the coming together of their two families.
The Bell of Truce: A bell is blessed and then presented to the bride and groom. The couple is required to ring the bell, while thinking tender thoughts of each other. The bell is then kept at home as a token of the wedding day. If an argument arises, the bell can be rung by either the husband or wife to call a truce. The tinkling sound is meant to remind the couple of their wedding vows and to help them recall happy memories from their wedding day.
Handfasting: Early Celts used to ?tie the knot?. It dates back to a pre-Christian custom of literally tying a couple's wrists together in a form of probationary marriage lasting a year and a day, at the end of which a new agreement was made or the couple parted ways.
Bride's Bouquet: In Celtic wedding traditions brides carried herbs beneath their veils to signify fidelity, and spices to frighten off evil spirits.
Ring finger: Ancient Celts thought that there was a vein in the third finger of the left hand that ran directly to the heart, so ring placed on that finger demonstrated a strong love and vow to the other.
Wedding cake: A thin loaf was broken over the bride's head at the end of the service to indicate fertility. The wheat from which it was made symbolized fertility and the guests enthusiastically picked up the pieces for good luck charms.
It was also common for the Celtic groom to toss a handful of coins into the crowd after the wedding, in the hope that this would bring them good fortune in the years ahead.
Celtic wedding have traditional symbolic motifs, often based on the Celtic knot. Welsh, Irish and Scottish families will sometimes marry in ancient buildings like castles or old manors, but that is not the standard. A traditional Celtic wedding is not greatly different from a normal British wedding in a lot of ways.
However, the number of similarities between Celtic wedding traditions and normal British-style weddings goes a lot further than that. If you want a traditional British style wedding, you will be going unwittingly for a Celtic wedding. But you can beef up the Celtic element of the wedding ritual even further without sinking into silly theatrics.
This is a traditional Celtic poem about when to marry:
Marry when the year is new, Always loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You may wed, nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, Joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for maiden and for man.
Marry in the month of May, You will surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses blow, Over land and sea you'll go.
They who in July do wed, Must labour always for their bread.
Whoever wed in August be, Many a change are sure to see.
Marry in September's shine, Your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, Love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, Only joy will come, remember.
When December's showers fall fast, Marry and true love will last.
Here are a few other traditions:
Loving Cup: The traditional cup is a two-handled bowl with Celtic designs engraved onto it. The idea of the Loving Cup ceremony is for the bride and groom to share their first drink together as husband and wife and to demonstrate the coming together of their two families.
The Bell of Truce: A bell is blessed and then presented to the bride and groom. The couple is required to ring the bell, while thinking tender thoughts of each other. The bell is then kept at home as a token of the wedding day. If an argument arises, the bell can be rung by either the husband or wife to call a truce. The tinkling sound is meant to remind the couple of their wedding vows and to help them recall happy memories from their wedding day.
Handfasting: Early Celts used to ?tie the knot?. It dates back to a pre-Christian custom of literally tying a couple's wrists together in a form of probationary marriage lasting a year and a day, at the end of which a new agreement was made or the couple parted ways.
Bride's Bouquet: In Celtic wedding traditions brides carried herbs beneath their veils to signify fidelity, and spices to frighten off evil spirits.
Ring finger: Ancient Celts thought that there was a vein in the third finger of the left hand that ran directly to the heart, so ring placed on that finger demonstrated a strong love and vow to the other.
Wedding cake: A thin loaf was broken over the bride's head at the end of the service to indicate fertility. The wheat from which it was made symbolized fertility and the guests enthusiastically picked up the pieces for good luck charms.
It was also common for the Celtic groom to toss a handful of coins into the crowd after the wedding, in the hope that this would bring them good fortune in the years ahead.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring
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