Wedding traditions with candles and lamps
Candles and lamps bring light to a day of beginnings.
Candles and lamps bring light to a day of beginnings. They mark a threshold, bless the household and join two flames, and in many weddings a lamp is the first thing that is lit.
Lamps in South Asia
In Kerala the nilavilakku, a traditional oil lamp, stands before the couple at the thali-tying. In Tamil Nadu the kuthuvilakku is lit, and in the Hindu wedding of Bali and Nepal lamps and incense are used. In Sikh and Hindu homes lamps, diyas, line the path for the wedding procession.
Candles in the West
The unity candle, in which the couple use two small candles to light a larger one, became popular in the United States in the twentieth century. In Orthodox weddings the couple hold candles through the service, and in Catholic churches candles are lit at the altar. In Ukraine and Russia the couple hold candles in a church ceremony.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Candles and lamps (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source