Origins of Scottish wedding blackening tradition

The Scottish pre-wedding ritual known as blackening practiced in the Highlands, Islands and rural parts of Scotland is a strange wedding tradition. In my book, it is disgusting. The groom and/or bride are publicly taken out and drenched with a wide array of ingredients like slop, molasses, flour, feathers, as well as smelly disgusting things like fish guts and cow dung. I’ve read that this practice as it is done today is actually a corrupted variation of an old foot washing/hair washing tradition when the purpose of the blackening was to ensure the groom was dirty before the washing. How could today's blackening tradition be related to foot washing?

 

Blackening foot washing

I did some digging and found answers in “A Highland Wedding in Bygone Days” published in The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 13., 1888. The origins of the blackening tradition can be traced to a foot washing custom. In this case, the foot washing took place the night before the wedding and involved the groom. He and his friends gathered at his house using the guise of washing his feet for his wedding. Just like many bachelor parties today, a good deal of practical joking took place. One of these jokes included using soot, dirt, and other blackening agents mixed with the water and rubbed on the feet and even on the face of the bridegroom.

If the groom was fortunate enough to escape, his friends chased him down, and if he was lucky enough to find a good hiding place and eluded them, it was considered a good omen of future prosperity. When his friends gave up looking for him, he spent the rest of the night dancing.

Wedding shoes custom

On the Monday night after the first public announcement of their impending marriage the young couple secretly visited the shoemaker for the marriage shoes. The groom paid for both pairs. (In Greece it is still tradition for the groom to buy the bride’s shoes). They were delivered the morning of the wedding with money tucked inside, and if the groom delivered the shoes himself, he took the time to put them on her feet. However, it was perfectly acceptable for someone else to deliver the shoes. 

As for the money in the shoes, this differs from the longstanding tradition of placing a lucky Sixpence in the bride’s shoe because that is done by the bride’s father as a symbol of prosperity, love and unity. However, there is another Scottish wedding tradition in which the groom popped a silver coin under his left foot. I don’t have any more info on what money the groom slipped into her shoe or why, but if I learn more, I’ll be sure to update this section.

Other Scottish wedding superstitions

As long as we are looking back at the history of Scottish wedding traditions/superstitions, here are a few lesser-known wedding superstitions once practiced in Scotland:

• Unlucky to get married in May

• Tuesdays and Thursdays were favored for weddings because the rest of the days were thought to be unlucky.

• A day during the waxing moon was always preferred.

• When the bride entered her new house for the first time she had to be careful to step over the threshold if she would be lucky.

• A cake of bread and a cheese, both of which had been previously either broken or cut into pieces, were placed on a plate and thrown over the bride’s had as she entered the door. If the plate broke it was a good omen as to having a son as heir. 

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Photo credits: Leanne Townsend

 

When looking for unity ceremonies for your wedding, one popular choice is the Cord of Three Strands Ceremony, which is also known as God’s Knot, the unity braid, or unity rope. 

 

 

Origins of the three-strand cord for weddings

 

The origins of the three-strand cord can be traced back to the book of Ecclesiastes 4:12 found in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” The three strands represent God, the groom, and the bride and braiding them into one symbolizes the joining of one man, one woman, and God in marriage. The idea is that with God at the center of the marriage, His love will continue to grow and keep the couple united in a flourishing relationship.

 

 

Cord of Three Strands wedding ceremony

As a unity ceremony, the Cord of Three Strands wedding ceremony plays a special part. The groom holds a small metal ring with three cords attached and the bride braids them into one rope, symbolic of the union of God, husband, and wife.

While braiding the Cord of Three Strands, someone often reads a description of the meaning of the ceremony (samples of readings are plentiful). However, if you prefer, you can keep the significance between just the two of you and have a soloist sing a song or simply play music. For couples who are not religious or prefer to leave God out of their ceremony, the Unity Braid ceremony can be performed by replacing “God” with the word “love.”

 

Cord Of Three Strands Unity Rope Wedding Braids 3/8" pick your colors

Other levels of symbolism

Following the braiding, wedding vows can be exchanged with the ancient handfasting tradition using the three-cord strand to bind their hands. Handfasting is also symbolic of the binding together of two people in love.

Cords are a symbol of strength, and colors used bring yet more symbolic meaning adding a special layer to the vows being exchanged. Most often the three cords are of three different colors, chosen by the couple for the colors' symbolic meanings to them. Custom made three cords can be ordered in specific colors.

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History of the Celtic knot tying ceremony

The Celtic knot tying ceremony, also known as handfasting, is an ancient custom. This practice, in ages past, recognized as marriage in Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England, did not mean quite the same as what we think of marriage today. Also known by names like  'Celtic Marriage' or 'hand-wrapping' it is still practiced as one of the most popular Celtic marriage traditions. 

 

Origin of the Celtic knot tying ceremony

 

How did this custom start? To understand this, we need to recognize that in the past, the gesture of holding hands was a sign that the couple’s relationship was exclusive and while exchanging rings was a custom, not everyone could afford them. For those who couldn’t afford rings, a cord worked just fine.

 

 

As for the origins, the Celtic handfasting tradition can be traced back to 7000 BC when the Celts migrated from Europe and settled in Britain. They brought the ritual with them, and the practice continued well through the Tudor Period. Two people came to be married, and their hands were fastened together with a cord or strip of material. The Celtic knot ceremony publicly declared the couple’s intention to marry one year and a day in the future. In the meantime, they lived together as husband and wife. 

 

Lughnasadh harvest festival

As long as we are talking about this custom, another bit of related trivia is the ancient Irish tradition of a festival held on Lughnasadh (associated with the god Lugh). The festival was held to commemorate his marriage and was practiced until the nineteenth century. During this festival, men and women gathered on opposite sides of a high wall. Men stood on the North side and women on the South. The women stuck through hands through holes in the wall. Men came along and chose one of the hands. These new couples formed temporary partnerships called “Tailtian marriages.” They were solemnized at the festival and the couples lived together for a year and a day in a trial marriage. After the time was up, they decided whether or not they wanted to be permanently married. 

 

Why a trial marriage?

Ancient Celtic law recognized this union as a trial period. Why? Speculation was that the making a public declaration of intent to marry let suitors know both parties were no longer available. Plus, the probationary phase offered time to ensure the couple was ready to take on the commitment of marriage. 

I think of it this way, instead of an engagement ring, they made their intentions known with this Celtic knot tying ceremony. It symbolized the joining of two lives. And my two cents is that a knot can be temporary. It can be untied.

 

Celtic wedding knot ceremony today

The Celtic wedding knot ceremony is a popular tradition in weddings today. As you can probably guess, the Celtic hand tying ceremony is where we get the modern expressions of ‘tying the knot’ and 'bonds of matrimony.' Often it is practiced across traditions and cultures as a unity ceremony with specific handfasting colors incorporated in the cords to represent personal meanings to the couple. 

 

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