Symbolic Actions
Lighting of Candle(s)
The lighting of candles represents light and warmth. They can be used, for example, to symbolise the light and warmth that the couple provide for one another in their relationship, or to welcome a child and wish it a bright future.
A unity candle may be lit to symbolise the new bond of a blended family, or a couple may wish to light a candle together to represent their undivided union.
Joining of Hands
Based on the traditional Celtic ritual of handfasting, the joining of hands symbolises the binding of a couple’s future together. The celebrant uses a ribbon, or narrow strip of cloth to tie around the couple’s hands. Just as the couple’s hands are joined, so too are their lives joined following the ceremony. The couple keep the ribbon as a memento of the ceremony. Sometimes the couple choose not to have a ribbon or cloth, but to just hold hands whilst some appropriate words are spoken.
Jumping the Broom
The act of ‘jumping the broom’ is based on an old, marriage tradition. It symbolises a new beginning and a sweeping away of the past, as the couple take a joint 'leap of faith' into their future together. It can also represent the joining of two families.
Planting a Tree
The planting of a tree, or any special plant, can be used to symbolise the growth of a relationship between two people, a family, or a child. It represents the wish for the love of the family to hold firm, as do the roots of the tree.
If the tree or plant is to be planted elsewhere, and this is not part of the ceremony, the location can be described, and family and guests may still write messages which can be tied to the tree if it is on display at the ceremony, or when planted later.
Drinking from One Cup
Any cup can be used for the couple to take it in turns to drink from the same cup, although many choose to follow the Scottish tradition of using a silver or pewter cup with two handles – a ‘Quaich’. The drink may consist of two separate drinks – which may be different colours – that the couple each pour into the cup. This represents drawing nourishment from the same source to express their commitment to joining on the same path on their journey through life.
Creating a Time Capsule
The filling of a time capsule - linked to a child’s date of birth, or the date of the ceremony can work very well for a naming, or welcome ceremony. The parents decide at what point the time capsule will be opened in the future – often on a significant birthday, e.g., the child’s 18th birthday - and this is announced at the ceremony.
Family and guests give gifts and messages as appropriate keepsakes, as guided by the parents.
The locking or burial of the Time Capsule may take place as part of the ceremony itself, or it may be referred to as something that the parents will do at a later point after the ceremony.
These are just a few of the symbolic actions that can be used in ceremonies. There are many, many more, and you may have your own, special symbols and traditions that you would like to include in your ceremony.
Blending of Sand
The blending of different coloured sands in a jar can be a very powerful symbol at a naming, or welcome ceremony, and often involves the children in the family.
As the individual grains of sand are blended together, they symbolise that the newly formed partnership or family can never be separated, as the grains of sand cannot now be separated.
Some families choose also to have a special, commemorative tag, that is tied onto the new glass jar(s), for the child or children to keep into the future as a souvenir of the ceremony.
'People have hope because of symbols.… They are histories, cultures, traditions, given shape'​
Roshani Chokshi - author