Irish handfast
An old Irish form of betrothal or trial union, now often a symbolic hand-tying in a wedding.
Also: handfasting (Irish), handfast
In Ireland, handfasting is described in older writing as a betrothal or a trial union of a year and a day, sometimes linked by legend to the fair at Teltown. The evidence for how it was practised is thin, and historians disagree on how far the story is true. Today an Irish couple may include a hand-tying with a ribbon or cord in a humanist or civil ceremony, as a symbol of the vow. It is a modern revival rather than a continuous folk tradition.
Region: Europe