Tying the Knot

Where does this saying come from anyway? After a little research, I've found that there are a few different ideas.


1. An old marriage custom of actually tying the couple's hands together as part of the ceremony. They were not allowed to untie it until they had consummated the marriage.

2. The priest performing the wedding would bind the bride and grooms hands with rope during the ceremony. In modern day, you will often see the priest place a sash around their hands rather than rope, and it is from this that the saying comes. Although the practice is not as common as it was, depending on your denomination it is still done.

3.Illiterate sailors and soldiers of yesteryear would send a piece of rope to their sweethearts when they wanted to get married. If the rope came back with a knot in it, that meant she said "yes" to the marriage proposal. He demonstrated this by tying two ornate knots in a length of rope. When the ends were pulled, the knots came together in the middle. Even if this isn't the origin of the expression, it was a charming demonstration.

4.The Wican and Pagan beliefs conducted what was known as the "handfasting ceremony" or "handfasting ritual". And there in lies the root of the phrase "tying the knot".

Where ever the saying comes from, we all have come to learn what it means when one says "They've tied the knot."