If Handfasting isn always a lifelong commitment, how long does it last?
The participants decide beforehand how long they will agree to be committed. The traditional commitment is “a year and a day”, but other popular vows include “so long as love shall last” and also “for all lifetimes.” (BTW — if your commitment was for ‘as long as love shall last’ and you got a marriage license and did the legal thing, you will still need a divorce to legally dissolve your marriage.) What happens when the time of commitment ends? Some people renew the vow every year. Other couples simply part and go separate ways in life. Still others have a ritual to mark the ending of the Handfasting commitment. It has also become popular to follow a Handfasting a year and a day later with a legal wedding. What kinds of special ritual actions are performed at the Handfasting rite? Some couples opt to jump over a broom, balefire, sword or cord. Frequently, the couples are symbolically tied together. Couples may drink out of the same cup to indicate the joining of their lives and destin
