Wedding Traditions Influenced By The Mayans
Many wedding traditions, that take place today, come from people of civilizations that no longer exist. The Mayans are one example of those civilizations. Many Mayan wedding traditions can be found in the wedding ceremonies of today.
Mayans And The Wedding Unity Candle
The use of a unity candle today for instance may stem from the Mayan culture. The Mayans, as a means to incorporate the spiritual world into their wedding ceremonies, used a candle to unite the feminine (Mother Earth) and masculine (Cosmic Energy). Candles were used in other ways as well. For instance, four candles would be placed on an alter during the wedding ceremony. These candles were placed on each corner of the altar representing north, south, east, and west which had a very symbolic meaning for the Mayan people.
Mayans And Wedding Flowers
For the Mayans, flowers are symbolic of their gods. The North God is represented by red flowers, the East with yellow flowers, the South with purple flowers, and West with white flowers. Today's weddings are full of flowers and we still choose the colors based up ancient symbolism. Red flowers symbolize love. Yellow equals new beginnings. While purple means success and white represent purity.
Mayans And Chocolate Fountains
We can probably thank the Mayans for the use of chocolate fountains at wedding receptions. As far back as 2600 years ago, Mayans had chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We can surmise that if they had it that often it probably was served ass a wedding tea. If the Mayans were the ones who gave birth to the chocolate fountain wedding reception custom, then kudos to them. It is yummy tradition.
As we plan a wedding, we may not always know why custom dictates the use of roses or a chocolate fountain or even a white wedding dress. But, we do know that previous cultures found valued and symbolism in these things. Incorporating the traditions of our ancestors makes the wedding ceremony more meaningful.
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