My sister is getting married in a very old church/wedding chapel soon and one of the "traditions" is that the groom rings the church bell nine times from the altar before the ceremony begins. According to the people who own it, each time the bell rings, it signifies "something" to do with the marriage, (i.e.: harmony, love, etc.) but they can't remember exactly what the nine things are. There is also supposed to be a biblical reference to this tradition as well. Has anybody ever heard of this? I would like to include this information in the wedding program, because it's a neat idea, but I can't find anything about it anywhere! Thank you!
Etiquette Now
WEDDING ETIQUETTE EXPERT
Jul 18, 2007, 1:30 PM
Post #2 of 4
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Re: [Sail7Seas] Significance of ringing 9 bells before ceremony?
[In reply to]
Dear Sail7Seas,
If it were me, I contact the owners of the church and ask. If it is a tradition, they should know about it.
Re: [Sail7Seas] Significance of ringing 9 bells before ceremony?
[In reply to]
What a unique part of the wedding celebration! It would be a wonderful touch to include information about this tradition in the wedding program. However, in our research we were unable to find anything about this tradition either in ancient lore or in scripture.
You may be able to get some answers by talking to people who were married in the chapel long ago before the rationale for the bell ringing was forgotten. Also try researching the traditions of the chapel's denomination of origin. There may be roots in Celtic lore, for example.
Re: [Sail7Seas] Significance of ringing 9 bells before ceremony?
[In reply to]
To anyone who's interested,
The ringing of the bell nine times is in reference to Galatians 5:22- The Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Thanks to those who gave advice!
Significance of ringing 9 bells before ceremony?
Re: [Sail7Seas] Significance of ringing 9 bells before ceremony?
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