[IMG]http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif[/IMG][FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]"[I]Handfasting[/I]" was the word used by the ancient Celts to describe their traditional trial-marriage ceremony, [/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]during which couples were literally bound together. The handfasting was a temporary agreement, that expired [/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]after a year and a day. However, it could be made permanent after at that time, if both spouses agreed.[/FONT]
[IMG]http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gif[/IMG][FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]"[I]Handfasting[/I]" was the word used throughout the once-Celtic lands of Scotland and Northern England to refer [/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]to a commitment of betrothal or engagement. It was a ceremony in which the couple publicly declared their intention [/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]to marry one year and a day in the future. In 1820, Sir Walter Scott used the term to refer to a fictional sacred ritual [/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]that bound the couple in a form of temporary marriage for a year and a day.[/FONT]