The Marriage Ceremony of Tim and Laramie

As performed by me on Thursday, May 1st 2008

May Day (May 1st) and Walpurgisnacht (April 30th)

May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the locally prevalent political or religious establishment.

In the Norse tradition, Walpurgisnacht is considered the "Enclosure of the Fallen". It commemorates the time when Odin died to retrieve the knowledge of the runes, and the night is said to be a time of weakness in the boundary between the living and the dead.

BEFORE THE CERMONY
A book was given as a gift to commemorate the Walpurgisnacht. The book was the Encyclopedia of Mythology.

Another tradition, when marrying on such a day as May Day, is the couple would take a boat over to a place to light a fire. When the couple married and lights a fire, they are filled with good luck and happiness.



PREPARING THE SITE

In many parts of Highlands, the folk of the district would meet on the moor on May Day. They cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by cutting a trench in the ground of sufficient circumferences to hold the whole company. I now ask the groom to symbolically cut the sod with this spade to make a place to perform the wedding ceremony. Make a cut in the sod on four “sides” of a circle large enough to hold us all.


The bride will place seven fig scented votive candles around the circle, describing its circumference. The fig tree is the symbol of Israel. The Pythagoreans 7 called it the perfect number, 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, the perfect figures. There were seven ancient planets. The sun was the greatest planet of the ancient seven and next to the sun, the moon, changing in all its splendor every seventh day. The groom will light 4 candles and the bride will light 3. This is the fire for May Day and your blessing of luck and happiness.

PREPARING THE BRIDE

A horseshoe had many pagan supernatural powers. For some, it symbolized the crescent moon which is concerned a sign of fertility. Because the horseshoe is “U” shaped, to retain the good luck forever it is essential that the horseshoe is never turned upside down or else the good luck of the marriage may fall out.

AN OFFERING TO THE GODDESS OF LOVE

Traditionally, many pagans would get married on Friday, Freya’s Day. In the stories of the gods and goddesses of the Angles and Saxons we find two goddesses, Frigga, the wife of Odin and queen of the gods, and Freya, the Goddess of Love. Some people think that Friday was named after Frigga, and others that it was Freya's day. Since very similar stories are told of each of them, it is quite probable that they were really the same person. To honor Freya, for not marrying on her day, and to gain her blessings will now make an offering to her. Oatmeal cakes were also consumed on May Day. Thus we will take a bite of an oatmeal cake and make the rest an offering to Freya. Each member of the company takes a bite of an oatmeal cake and leaves the rest for Freya.

THE TOKENS OF MARRIAGE
Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. "Something old" symbolizes continuity with the bride's family and the past. "Something new" means optimism and hope for the bride's new life ahead. "Something borrowed" is usually an item from a friend or family member, whose good fortune in is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. And finally, a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe represents wealth and financial security.

Something Old, Something New
< The knife from the groom's mom, the knife from me >
Something Borrowed, Something Blue

And silver sixpence for her shoe
< A 1937 “Walking Liberty” Silver half-dollar from Laramie's father>
The items are presented and described.


AN OFFERING TO THOR

As the Thursday is Thor’s Day, and we have made an offering to Freya, Odin’s wife, we make an offering to Thor, in the form of Lamb Meat and Goat Cheese, to gain his blessings. Lamb Meat and Goat Cheese are placed next to the offering to Freya.

THE BLESSING OF BETROTHAL

A cup of wine is used in the wedding ceremony and accompanies the betrothal blessing, and after these are recited, the couple drinks from the cup. This is a Jewish tradition Kosher wine was used to honor and recognize the bride’s heritage.

May Good Fortune be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

THE CEREMONY

Two rings for each. Engraved inside of the thick one:
AEQUALITAS (Equality)
Engraved outside the thin ring:
AMOR VINCIT OMNIA (Love conquers all)

The saying of the Vows

The Bride and Groom exchange their vows to each other.

The bride’s ring is offered to her on the hilts of the groom’s new sword (something new) and his tendered to him in the same fashion: this juxtaposition of the sword and rings further “emphasize the sacredness of the compact between man and wife and binding nature of the oath which they have take together, so that the sword is not a threat to the woman only, but to either should the oath be broken.” The sword from the bride is family heirloom from the groom’s mother (something old). In theory, the new sword, kept by the bride, would then be given to the bride of their son, in his wedding. The rings hang from the hilts with blue ribbon. (Something blue.)



Now for you there is no rain, for one is shelter to the other.
Now for you the sun shall not burn, for one is shelter to the other.
Now for you nothing is hard or bad, for the hardness and badness is taken by one for the other.
Now for you there is no night, for one is light to the other,
Now for you the snow has ended always, for one is protection for the other.
It is that way, from now on, from now on. And now there is comfort.
Now there is no loneliness. Now forever, forever, there is no loneliness.
I chose this blessing, as the Salish are a native American tribe, and this recognizes that we are actually Americans.


Another legal requirement set forth by the Gragas for the marriage to be considered valid, is the ceremonial serving of the bridal ale. Here the new wife first assumes the foremost of her official duties as a wife, the ceremonial serving of drink. The bride will pour ale into the Pewter Mug (something borrowed) and recite the following, while serving the ale:

Ale I bring thee, thou oak of battle
With strength blended and brightest honor;
‘Tis mized with magic and mighty songs
With goodly spells, wish speeding runes.

THE CLOSING BLESSING

I would like to formally seal this wedding with an Irish blessing and toast with Irish Whisky.

Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.
Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.
Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

AND NOW!!! Feasting!!!



A final note: When asked to perform this ceremony, I wanted a way to create a sense of ritual but did not know how without parroting Catholic traditions. I wanted to honor the groom’s Nordic heritage, that of Vikings, and the bride’s Jewish heritage. The groom has never been baptized and none of us go to church or temple. In light of the fact that they chose May Day, a largely pagan holiday, as the date of their marriage, I chose to research pagan/pre-Christian traditions as my source of inspiration. Very little actually exists in regards to how pagan wedding ceremonies were conduced. As such I chose many different traditions and combined them in a manner unigue to this marriage. I also wanted to recognize that we are Americans as well, which is why I chose a Californian Ale and a blessing was that of Pacific Northwest native Americans. I hope I succeeded. The Bride cried and looked beautiful, so that was the important part. ^__^