Today, there are many options for a wedding celebration. Someone, following Western traditions, prefers to conduct exit registrations. Someone wants to spend this holiday only in a close circle. However, the majority of newlyweds and their families still prefer the traditional version with a festive feast and a large number of guests.
In addition to the scope of the celebration, the traditional wedding is characterized by a large number of rituals.that both young spouses themselves and invited friends and relatives commit. Blowing the bride and groom with petals and coins, throwing a bouquet, theft of the bride - all these actions have retained their popularity for many decades. And one of the most symbolic and beautiful traditions is the ignition of the family hearth.
Tradition features
The lighting of the hearth is indeed a very moving action for all participants and guests. Parents of the newlyweds from their candles set fire to a new candle, passing a piece of comfort to their children. The light in the hands of the bride and groom symbolizes the formation of a new family, for the fate of which grown children are now responsible. Most often, the ritual of lighting the hearth is unreasonably attributed to the story that dates back to ancient times. From the house of parents, open fire was brought into the house of the young, and the stove was first fired from it.
In fact, this ritual lives no more than a hundred years, and no ritual of transferring fire to this at weddings existed before.
Some associate the lighting of the candlelight of young parents of candles with the wedding ceremony in the church. And indeed, during a religious ceremony, young people are holding long thin candles at the time when wedding prayers are read. However, in this case, the lighting of the candle at the celebration has no connection with the Christian wedding. At the same time, despite the absence of a rich history, such a ritual has a very considerable significance in the holiday schedule, and special attention is always paid to it. The closest thing is the ignition of the hearth of a new family can be compared to the parental blessing that loving children receive before tying the knot. So the marriage union receives an unspoken confirmation and acceptance by all families of relatives and friends.
Selection and decoration of candles
Modern weddings are rarely held in the home of the bride or groom. Most often, a restaurant, cafe or even a whole country club is rented for a holiday. Yes, and the family hearth in modern urban apartments is more a symbol than a real stove or a fireplace, which gives warmth and allows you to cook for the household. As such a symbol is a lit candle, which can be purchased at the wedding salon or made independently.
Fragile light, lit in the twilight, gives the moment of trembling and mystery, as befits such a ritual. At least 3 candles should participate in it: one for the young and one for the parents of the bride and the groom. Additionally, you can give small candles to guests, a lot of flickering lights, illuminating a pair, will be an excellent background for memorable photos. Despite the fact that there are no strict rules when buying attributes, there are some recommendations that are better taken into account when buying.
The hearth of the young must be larger than that of the parents, or have a more magnificent decoration.
Most often this is a regular round candle of large diameter with a height of about 15-20 cm. At the same time, the shape of the hearth can be absolutely anyone and limited only by the imagination of the wedding decorator or the young ones themselves.
Some prefer to light candles other, no less beautiful rituals. It is possible to replace an ordinary hearth, for example, with a beautiful transparent vase into which parents and newlyweds pour colored sand. This vase will look great in the interior of a bedroom or living room and remind spouses of the holiday. Some plant a tree or flower, symbolizing the birth of a new cell of society. Another beautiful rite of parental blessing that serves as a substitute for traditional ritual is to tie the hand of the groom to the hand of the bride, which is held by the parents. In this case, the lovers' wrists are tied with a variety of colored ribbons.
After the ceremony, the bride and groom and parents will return to their seats, so the candles are best extinguished. If you want to leave the candles burning during the continuation of the holiday, you need to attend to the purchase of three candlesticks in advance. On one the candle of a newly-married couple will be exposed, and on two others - candles of their parents.
Such accessories should also be combined in style and design, both among themselves and with the rest of the wedding decor.
It will be most convenient to light the hearth with long, thin chopsticks, so it is best not to pick out figured or too small candles for parents. You should not raise the decor, it is better to limit the lower part of the accessory, since taper candles burn faster, and synthetic ribbons and plastic are easily flammable. Openwork carved candles look beautiful, but they are very difficult to make without the appropriate experience. It is best to purchase such blanks already cut and decorate them yourself.
If the choice of candles in the store is not happy, you can independently make all the necessary accessories. Candles are decorated with beads and rhinestones, ribbons and lace, bows and small figures of plastic.
The monograms are engraved in the form of the first letters of the names of the young or in the form of wedding rings on a pliable wax or paraffin. In the network there are many workshops on the original design of such wedding compositions. All three candles should be decorated in the same style, while the main one of them is the candle of the bride and groom. It needs to be decorated more magnificently, it should be somewhat larger than the parent candles and more visible. The hearth, made by joint efforts of the bride and groom, will not only bring the young family closer, but will subsequently evoke more tender feelings in them than the finished accessory bought in the salon. Beautiful design can be done by following a small step by step instructions.
- Draw or print a small heart on a piece of paper, cut it with scissors.
- Attach the cut figure to the candle and gently cut around it with a thick needle on the edge so that there is a noticeable line on the wax or wax.
- Along the line or on it lay out beautiful large beads or small beads, glue artificial flowers.
- Inside the heart, you can draw a needle with the first letters of the name of the bride and groom, and also decorate them with decor.
- Tie a satin ribbon around the bottom of the candle and place a beautiful bow.
- Similarly, but with a smaller amount of decor, decorate the parent candles.
It is not necessary to postpone the preparation of candles for the last evening before the ceremony, but you should not make them in a few months. Wax or paraffin is too malleable, it is easy to deform, and all glued beads can fall off it. In addition, bright sunlight or intense heat can additionally soften and even melt the material. It is best to make a design 1-2 weeks before the ceremony and store the accessories in a special box in a dark cool place.
On how to make candles for the family hearth with your own hands, watch the following video.
Subtleties of holding
For the wedding is most often responsible person specially hired for this person, who is called the toastmaster. Each presenter may have his own ideas about the intricacies of the solemn ritual, but the general principle of its conduct remains always the same. In the center of the hall are invited parents of the young, who are handed two long, twisted candles. The right to kindle a family hearth is traditionally granted to mothers, since in traditional culture the preservation of comfort and warmth at home is a female role.
At the same time, fathers can contribute to the ceremony, while these candles are lit. Men with a match or a cigarette lighter ignite wicks and pass candles into women's hands. The mothers of the bride and the groom bring their candle to the biggest candle and pass the fire from them, setting the fuse on fire.
The hearth itself at this time is in the hands of one bride or both spouses. At the end of the ritual, young people can leave a burning hearth on a special tray or candlestick or put it on the table with gifts.
Increase the time of the ritual and its solemnity can be an additional dance of the young or lighting a lot of smaller candles from the hearth. Anyone can take small candles and surround the young. The bride and groom will take turns to approach the guests and share the fire of their hearth, lighting their lights. Such an action means that the bride opens her house and her heart to the relatives of her newly-made spouse. Especially solemnly such a ceremony will look at dusk, so it is better to postpone it at the end of the event.
What is said during the rite?
In order to properly conduct the ceremony of kindling a new hearth, one beautiful candle is not enough. Firstly, it is advisable to tell the presenter about the tradition of lighting such a hearth. This can be done in poetic form, in the form of a parable, or simply to tell about a beautiful and symbolic action. Secondly, before lighting the candle in the hands of the spouses, parents can tell them parting words and wishes. Candles need to be kept carefully, bring to each other slowly enough so that the fire on them does not go out from the movement of air. A hearth lost to a wedding is considered a bad omen, and even if the couple is not superstitious, they can upset them with unnecessary fuss.
Finally, after the family center has been lit, the newlyweds can pronounce wedding vows, if they have not yet been pronounced during marriage registration. In addition, the bride and groom can say words of gratitude to their parents and other guests. The ritual is best accompanied by a beautiful melody, selected in advance. You should choose soft and quiet music so that guests can hear every word of parental blessing and the response words of the bride and groom. Such an action will be a beautiful end to the whole event and a great end to the festive day for the young.
What to do with the hearth after the ceremony?
According to tradition, the candle of a new family hearth should be kept by the spouses for all subsequent years of marriage. It symbolizes the understanding and love of the couple. Some people light this symbol annually for a few minutes on the date of the wedding anniversary, others prefer to keep the hearth for more memorable dates. For example, such a date could be the birth of a baby or a wedding anniversary. It will be a beautiful tradition to light the hearth of young people from the candles of their parents who have kept a happy marriage for many years. In this case, you may have to slightly redo the old design, so that all the candles were decorated in the same style.
Symbolic ritual will look great in photos in the family album. The main thing is to choose and warn the wedding photographer or cameraman who is shooting. They should be ready in advance to the video and photos in the dark, lit only by candles room. This will provide clear photos that can not only be placed on the album, but also make a portrait of them. The picture can be hung on the wall or give to parents of young.
