Wedding towel: its role and meaning. What are the signs about a wedding towel Towels for a wedding under your feet

A wedding towel can be called an obligatory attribute of Slavic weddings. Why do these towels, which are decorated with intricate embroidery, receive so much respect and attention? The newlyweds believe that the towel is a symbol of a happy and strong family life.

The emergence of the tradition of using towels for a wedding

Previously, brides embroidered towels with their own hands. The girl sat over her creation for days. For these purposes, a piece of linen fabric was used. The name comes from the word "rushiti", because they embroidered patterns on a torn piece of cloth.

In the old days, it was customary to marry young girls, so the duties of the future wife were taken over by her relatives. They embroidered towels and prepared wedding attire. They faced an important task - to finish the painstaking work on time so as not to let the young bride down.

At this time, the bride did not rest and did not have fun. She, too, had her own responsibilities and worries. There was an opinion that the chosen one of the future bride, who first became a guest of her house, first of all looks for embroidered towels with his eyes. According to the masterpieces seen, the patience and perseverance of a young girl were evaluated.

The wedding towel, which has long been considered a pagan symbol, was also adopted in the Orthodox Church. This towel can be purchased both in modern salons and in shops that work at churches. You can also order a wedding towel from a professional needlewoman who will embroider your chosen patterns.

How to choose a wedding towel

Lovers who decide to tie the knot have two options: buy a ready-made towel or order it from a professional. If you believe in the magical properties of towels, then it is better to order an attribute from a needlewoman. The symbols that the craftswoman will embroider carry a certain meaning that our ancestors passed on from generation to generation. In addition, hand-embroidered things look much more attractive than artificial products. Of course, this option has one significant disadvantage - this is a rather high cost of the service.

If young people are used to sticking to traditions, but they don’t have too much money, then they can buy a ready-made towel. A small minus is that it is artificial. The main advantages of this attribute can be called colorful performance and low cost.

But there is an option that is considered the cheapest of all. You need to purchase fabric and embroider patterns with your own hands. But in order not to turn the usual wedding towel into an incomprehensible piece of fabric, you must learn the basics of embroidery. It is advisable to take a few lessons from an experienced needlewoman. Do not forget that the embroidery process is characterized by a number of certain rules. Their implementation will help the towel to acquire magical properties and in the future to keep warmth and tenderness in your relationship. Embroidery is a painstaking and difficult task that requires patience and perseverance.

How many towels should you have at a wedding

There should be two main towels:

1. you will need the first one at the registry office. It will be spread by the godparents of the bride and groom. Then the newlyweds must stand on the towel in a special place - a snow-white area in the middle of the attribute, which was not touched by embroidery. Tradition claims that newlyweds who stand up correctly will never trample on the embroidery that protects family life.
2. on the second towel, a loaf of salt is served. This happens at the moment the newlyweds return home. The newly-made husband and wife should tear off a piece of muffin, dip them in salt and eat.

However, this list only includes those towels that must be present during the wedding ceremony. Previously, the formalization of relations meant the use of 60 towels! For example, if the newlyweds decide to get married in a church, then they will need another towel that needs to be spread out in front of their feet.

When meeting the newlyweds in a restaurant, relatives use an allied towel. This is the fourth attribute of the solemn day. Godparents or relatives mom and dad should tie the hands of the young as tightly as possible. After that, they are helped to enter the house. This ceremony helps to consolidate the relationship between the newly-made husband and wife. It is believed that the young family will now never face quarrels and omissions.

There is another main rite - this is a parental blessing. Parents must purchase icons of the Mother of God and the Savior in advance. These icons will be complemented by small embroidered towels, which are called "gods". They cover the icons before the blessing of the parents. If the newlyweds decide to get married in the future, then all these paraphernalia will definitely come in handy. The bride and groom who will follow all of the above rules must purchase six towels.

Storage of towels after the wedding

Husband and wife who got married in a church should in no case give or throw away towels. Otherwise, you will destroy strong family relationships on your own, and there will be no stability and happiness in your family. They must be stored very carefully. Treat them the way you treat your family relationships.
Towels that came in handy at the registry office can only be given away to your grown children on the eve of their wedding. Such an exception was made by pagan ancestors. Over time, it passed into the Slavic culture. Almost every family follows this tradition.

If you started to quarrel often, then you need to get wedding towels, completely relax and look at the intricate embroidered patterns. You will immediately forget about quarrels, resentment and misunderstanding. It will immediately become clear to you that family happiness is the most important thing in the whole world.

You can turn the towel into a kind of symbol of your own kind. To do this, the attribute must be passed on by older family members to the younger generation. In this way, you can bless your adult children. Wish them a happy life with your soulmate. Let this be the hallmark of your family!

The traditional wedding (wedding) ceremony is based on ancient rituals, so it attaches great importance to the symbolism of a future happy family life. One of the most significant symbols is the wedding towel.

The product is a narrow (25-40 cm wide and 80-120 cm long) strip of fabric with embroidery at both ends. Besides embroidery, fabric is decorated with lace("valances"), fringe or tassels. The optimal type of material is homespun bleached linen. Let's also assume a quality cotton, including canvas.

Important: all sizes of the wedding canvas should be divisible by seven. The embroidery covers the fabric one quarter of the length on each side.

The ornament represents good wishes symbols:

• pair of birds(pigeons, swans, Sirin, but not a cuckoo - this is a symbol of widowhood and not a nightingale - the personification of an unmarried man);
• flowers, floral-geometric pattern;
• tree of life, abstract or referring to a specific family (the families of the bride and groom).

According to tradition, the wedding towel was embroidered by the bride herself; it was included in the list of obligatory dowry. One side with the bride's family tree was finished in advance, the second - with the groom's pedigree - immediately before the wedding.

Wedding towel symbolized the future life of the newlyweds The longer it is, the longer they will live together.

Signs

It is believed that embroidery on fabric should be continuous, without knots and threads crossing, and the embroiderer herself - to be distinguished by a good disposition and work in a state of inner peace. Only such a towel is really a talisman for a happy marriage.

The most famous sign regarding the wedding canvas is as follows: whoever is the first to be on it before the start of the ceremony, he will dominate the family. For a harmonious marriage, it is important to step on the fabric at the same time.

If someone other than the newlyweds stepped on the towel, or even they themselves, but before the start of the ceremony, this is not good. It is a very bad omen to forget the towel in the church (registry office for civil marriage) or lose it immediately after the wedding.

A newborn child is wrapped in a wedding towel as a wish for long life and health. It can also be used to frame family icons.

How to use?

Witnesses spread a towel on the floor (ground) under the feet of the young just before the start of the wedding (marriage in the registry office). Young people step on it, preferably at the same time, and stand on the towel all the time of the ceremony. The bride is on the left, the groom on the right.

After the end, the witnesses lift the canvas and fold it, take it with them. they oblige to keep a wedding towel all their lives, removing it for important family events - the birth of children, wedding anniversaries.

It is interesting that in the old days, during the wedding, the young on the towel were on their knees, the modern ceremony is less cruel in this sense. You can only stand on the part of the fabric that is free from embroidery, this is "God's place", a conductor of power.

Where to buy and how much?

If the bride is not a needlewoman, and there are no embroiderers among the relatives of the future newlyweds, you can buy a wedding towel. Wherein give preference to handmade products, and not factory, despite the higher cost.

The cheapest wedding towels can be found in online stores, they offer models with machine embroidery(usually cotton, less often linen) and machine-made lace. This product will cost 300-1500 rubles.

Hand embroidery private masters costs (depending on the material, size, amount of work performed) from 500 to 3000 rubles (and more), especially expressive - with artistic embroidery, beads, embroidered with silk - can "pull" on 4000 rubles or more.

Wedding salons offer both factory-made (woven, without embroidery or with machine embroidery) models, as well as exclusive products from famous embroiderers. In the first case, the cost will be 500-2000 rubles, in the second - the price only starts from 2000 rubles.

Video: about an Orthodox wedding

Pavel Yeletsky tells about all the nuances of a wedding in the Orthodox Church:

Tastefully selected and lovingly embroidered wedding towel will decorate the ceremony and become a symbol of a new family. And let us, modern people, do not believe in signs, but this one - a long towel for a long life - should not be forgotten!

And now about each in more detail ...

"Handmade" towel

It was the most beautiful, the largest and was given after the matchmaking from the bride's parents to the groom as a sign of consent to marriage. Then the girl embroidered towels for her lover's family, which were then used in the wedding ceremony.

"Blessed" towels

These were beautiful embroidered towels that parents prepared to decorate the icon for blessing before the wedding of their children. They had a lot of red embroidery.

He is perhaps the most important at the wedding ceremony, because it is he who decides how the future life of the new family will turn out. In the registry office during the marriage process or in the church during the wedding, the witnesses spread the "wedding" white towel on the floor in front of the newlyweds, on which they stood. The center of the cloth should remain white, thereby personifying the connection with space. The towel symbolized a white cloud, on which the bride and groom, as it were, ascended to the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Lord Himself blessed their marriage and sealed it with the sacred bonds of marriage. Therefore, it is forbidden to embroider rings, flowers, the wish “For good luck!”, Two birds symbolizing the young, because when the bride and groom stand on such a towel, they will trample on all the good that could be in their family future. The best option for embroidery on a wedding towel is a floral ornament or a geometric pattern. If a girl decides to embroider a towel by hand, then in no case should she be helped by her mother or sister, otherwise her son-in-law will be sent away (repelled).

"Union" towel

With this towel, the priest bandaged the hands of the newlyweds, as a symbol of the unity and affection for each other of the bride and groom, these towels were decorated with the inscription "advice and love", floral ornaments, doves, swans, rings that appeared only in the Soviet years, etc. A white or embroidered with white thread allied towel - for a cloudless life, for joy - with red threads.

"Hospitable" towel or towel under the loaf

It is the brightest of all and there are no restrictions for it. On such a towel lay a wedding loaf, with which the parents met the young couple after the marriage or wedding ceremony. The towel on the sides was decorated with an image of a bird couple looking at each other, symbolizing happy newlyweds, sincere and faithful towards each other in their future family life, wish inscriptions, floral ornaments symbolized the wishes of prosperity and well-being. And the inscription on the towel "Bread and salt" symbolizes prosperity and harmony in their family.

"God's" towel or towel "under the icons"

For the bride and groom, the ornaments on the towels under the Holy Faces are different. The common element is only grape leaves with clusters, symbolizing prosperity in the house. On the groom's towel, acorns and oak leaves are embroidered, which personify male power, and on the bride's towel - lilies and viburnum, symbols of beauty and procreation, respectively. Be sure to say a prayer before embroidering ornaments: “Creator and Creator of all kinds, God, the works of our hands, to Your glory begin, hastily correct Your blessing, and deliver us from all evil, as the only omnipotent and Humanitarian.” At the end of the work: “You are the fulfillment of all good things, my Christ, fill my soul with joy and gladness and save me, as One is many-merciful, Lord, glory to You.” Please note that the pattern of the ornament goes at an angle.

Towel sizes

According to tradition, the size of a wedding towel is divided by 7 without a trace. The length is divided into three equal parts and the middle, one third, must be left white. Nowadays, few people adhere to this rule and choose a white canvas 2 to 3 m long for towels “under the loaf” and “under the feet”. quarters of the towel, so it turns out the length in width from 45 to 50 cm. By repeating the pattern, the width of the towel is determined, the amount of embroidery (the free space in the middle should be enough for the legs of the newlyweds) - the length. The towel is hemmed by hand, grabbing the base thread through the cross, so that a dotted line is obtained on the face, only if a fabric without an edge was taken for it. The hem depends on the fabric, for example, coarse calico or linen is tucked 0.5 cm 2 times. The pattern should be symmetrical and there should not be a white border on the sides. The sizes of towels "under the icons" and "union": length from 1.8 to 2 m, and the width of the towel depends on the pattern.

A towel is a long rectangular cloth woven from linen or hemp. This piece of fabric bears a strong symbolism in the culture Slavic peoples and is involved in numerous rituals. It is also called a wedding towel, because it was more often used in the old days at weddings.

Word happened from the verb "destroy", since earlier the towel was made from a torn piece of fabric.

What is a wedding towel and how should it be?

The towel symbolizes the journey of life, therefore it is present in the rituals of the beginning of the journey (birth, christening), transition (weddings, preparations for the journey) and burial (funeral). The canvas was embroidered appropriate to the occasion pattern-symbols, decorated with ribbons, braid and lace.

Photo of a towel at a wedding

The main color of the towel - white as a symbol of purity, goodness and protection against evil forces. In this design, the towel served a decorative purpose, and not an everyday one (for example, wiping hands or as a tablecloth on a table).

Embroidered towels for weddings are kept in every Slavic family.

Russian tradition says that a towel is a symbol of goodness and good luck in any endeavor, and even more so at the beginning of family life.

In addition to wedding use, the old Slavic towel was taken with them on the road by the military and people going to work, so that they lucky on the other side. At the funeral, the body of the deceased was covered with a towel or laid under his feet. As a sign of mourning, the canvas was hung on the window or gate. In addition, the towel served as a piece of clothing in the old days. It was laid by women around the head and was called "namitka". And the men tied the belt with a cloth.

It has long been believed that a wedding towel is a strong guardian family life, and it is better to make it yourself. In Russia, it was believed that it was the bride who was obliged. She seems to be embroidering a pattern of future family life. Since the girls were married off young, in order to have time to prepare everything for the wedding, the bride was helped in embroidery by relatives.

Photo of a towel in Russia

The fabric was taken whole, which did not consist of several pieces. The ornament had to be continuous, starting from one edge and ending at the other edge, as a symbol of a continuous happy life. The groom and his relatives judged the patience, skill and perseverance of the bride by the complexity and elegance of the towel pattern.

Currently, only one towel is used at weddings - under the wedding loaf, with which parents meet the newlyweds.

On such a canvas, a pair of birds (doves or larks) is often depicted as a symbol of love and happiness. A good wish for the newlyweds and their names are also embroidered on the towel. Necessarily there are floral motifs, as a sign of prosperity, the appearance of children and happiness. The color of embroidery is mostly red. This color symbolized warmth, sun and beauty.

On wedding towels, there is often a traditional inscription: “Bread and salt”. In Russia, there was a custom to meet guests with bread and salt on the threshold of the house. Bread and salt mean the prosperity and well-being of those to whom the loaf is served, and salt also protects against evil eye. Guests could also bring bread and salt with them as a wish for the hosts to prosper.

The size of the towel can be any, but according to tradition, the width and length should be divided into seven parts without a trace. In Russia, it had a width of 35-40 centimeters and a length of 3-5 meters.

Everyone decides for himself whether to sew a canvas for the ceremony or buy a towel for a wedding. Wedding salons offer a wide range of these items. AT church shops this item is also for sale. The price of a towel depends on the fabric used and the complexity of the embroidered patterns and, on average, ranges from 300 to 5,000 rubles. But if you decide to order canvas embroidery from a professional needlewoman, then the towel will cost you even more.

How many towels do you need for a wedding and a wedding?

According to an old tradition, for a wedding, you need to prepare not one towel, but several canvases. Sometimes their number could reach 40. The first towel when wooing the bride gave the matchmakers, as consent to marry. It was the most beautiful and longest. The Slavs also used these embroidered fabrics to decorate wedding carts and backs of horses.

Photo of a wedding towel

In addition, their presented as a gift to the groom's family. The smallest number of canvases for a wedding is five: under the feet, under the loaf, for tying hands, for the icon corner in the house and for the bride's gift to the groom's family.

Parents always bless the young, and for this there is an icon on the towel.

In the old days, such a canvas was embroidered by the mother and older relatives of the bride

In addition, you need a towel for a loaf for a wedding. A towel under a loaf serves as a symbol of happiness and a wish for an easy family life.

Do you know what a wedding towel looks like under your feet? At the wedding in the church, a white towel is placed under the feet of the young. The bride and groom seem to stand on a cloud before God and take marital vows.

This canvas is considered the most important at the wedding. No inscriptions, flowers and rings are embroidered on it, so as not to prevent the Lord from binding the young with the sacred bonds of marriage. During the ceremony, the priest is already a different towel bandages the hands of the bride and groom together as a sign of unity and fidelity.

After the wedding, towels should not be given to anyone or thrown away if you do not want to lose a stable and happy family life. The canvases are neatly folded and kept as a memento of the past celebration. On the anniversary or anniversaries of living together, they are taken out and decorated with an interior. For a silver and gold wedding on a towel serve a loaf.

Photo of a wedding towel for a loaf

In Russia, an elderly couple could give their wedding towel only to their children. So the canvas could be passed down from generation to generation, especially through the female line.

After a divorce, you yourself must decide how best to deal with the canvas. You can take the towel to the church where it will be useful for the baptism of orphans and poor people. Or you can give it to someone who is going to conduct a ceremony in which you need a towel.

Today, a wedding can be held in any style, but everyone adheres to traditions and customs. An indispensable attribute of the wedding ceremony is the towel, and it is used in various customs, and there are also several varieties of it. It is worth considering in more detail how to choose the right wedding towel, what types are found, and also how to decorate it with your own hands.

Story

The word "towel" came from the Ukrainian language and translated into Russian means a towel. Initially, the towel was formed from words such as “tear” or “destroy”, although this word is also credited with the meaning of “move”. Among the Eastern Slavs, the towel is symbolized with the road. According to wedding ceremonies, this attribute must be present at every wedding: it is the personification of a happy road to the family life of the young. To date, the towel is presented as an element of decor, but endowed with a sacred meaning.

This familiar attribute of a wedding began to be used during marriage even before the introduction of Christianity in Russia. If certain patterns are embroidered on a small piece of linen fabric, then in the future this will protect the family from envious glances. If such a charm was present in the house, then it symbolized health, fidelity and prosperity, as well as procreation.

A wedding towel has always been something special and very important. According to the rules, the bride had to embroider with her own hands about 40 towels for various rites, which were used at the wedding. Quite often, these attributes were given during matchmaking to both matchmakers and guests. Of course, embroidering such a number of towels is a rather difficult task, so a minimum was adopted - the future bride had to decorate 12 towels with her own hands. The rest of the towels she was helped to make by the fair sex from her family. This indicated that the bride is quite patient and not lazy.

Interesting! The most spectacular and bright towel has always been an option for a loaf. It is decorated with a huge pattern, which gives splendor and solemnity to the product.

Signs

Quite a few signs have been preserved from ancient times that relate to a wedding towel. It is worth taking a closer look at some of them.

• One canvas should be used for a towel, it is strictly forbidden to use several bushes sewn together. There is a belief that the life of the newlyweds will be poor and unhappy if you do not heed this sign. That is why it is usually not used to decorate a hemstitch or lace product.
• It is forbidden to rent an embroidered towel. This product must be new or inherited. But there is an exception to the rule - a towel under your feet can be used only once, because you can only receive a blessing once.
• Quite often, newlyweds do not know what to do with wedding towels after the big day. Everything is quite simple - you should carefully put them in a box in order to save them for the future generation, and also hide them away from envious eyes.
• Wedding towels are amulets of the family, a kind of talismans. Ukrainian towels are very popular. They are not only endowed with a certain meaning, but also protect the young family from various problems.
• The personalized towel is in demand. It must indicate the names of the newlyweds, as well as the date of the solemn day of marriage.
• If young people use wedding towels from their descendants who have lived a happy and long life together, then this will bring good luck to the new family.

Kinds

Initially, 40 embroidered towels must be made for the wedding ceremony. Usually young relatives helped in this matter. An interesting fact is that each wedding towel had its own meaning. Today it is customary to use about 5 wedding towels, which are used as amulets. These products become magical due to the chosen color of the threads, the embroidered symbols and their location on the material.

• Under your feet. This option is indispensable during the wedding. Initially, a young couple stood on it only on their knees, but traditions have changed, and today it is already allowed to stand on it with their feet. Because of this, doves or swans should not be depicted on such a towel, since these birds symbolize the spouses. There is a sign that by standing with your feet on an embroidered towel, you can trample on your happiness. Towels under the feet should not be decorated with lace inserts or hemstitches. It is better to decorate it with a floral pattern or geometric shapes.

• For an icon for a wedding. This variety is also called the god. Such towels are hung on icons that parents use when blessing their children before starting a new family. They are characterized by bright colors, in which the red thread predominates. Luxurious pattern gives them richness and sophistication. Usually they are decorated with floral motifs or geometric shapes. The option for the bride is often decorated with roses, viburnum branches, but on the product for the future husband, you need to depict oak leaves and grapes.

• For a loaf. This towel is called hospitable, because it has a loaf and salt. It is with such attributes that parents meet a young family after the wedding. There are no restrictions here, so the towel can be decorated with various ornaments and patterns.

• For binding the hands of the spouses. Such an allied towel is the personification of the strength of the bonds between the young, unity, happiness and affection. Typically, such products are decorated with floral ornaments, the names of the young, as well as wishes of happiness and love. Usually, the hands of the newlyweds are bandaged during the ceremony in a church or registry office. There are no restrictions regarding color performance.

• Desktop. These products are large. They are used to decorate the table. They are usually made from waffle, calico, canvas or hemp. Colors and patterns may vary. They are often decorated with flowers, birds, grape castings.

How to choose?

The ideal option is to make your own wedding towels. This duty falls entirely on the shoulders of the bride. A girl should decorate a product exclusively with a positive attitude, thereby charging it with positive energy. Self-embroidered towels cannot be compared with purchased ones. But if the bride does not have the time or ability to embroider, then it is worth ordering products from professionals or buying a ready-made version in a specialized boutique.

When choosing a store towel, you should pay attention to several recommendations from experts.

• When choosing, it is worth not only starting from the cost and appearance of the product, but also taking into account other indicators. For example, the canvas must be solid - it is necessary to exclude options with hems or lace. When choosing a size, it is necessary that the length and width must be divided by seven. Embroidery should be present mainly at the edges of the product.
• It is worth giving preference to towels decorated with rings, birds, flowers, trees. Such options can be used for a solemn ceremony both in the church and in the registry office. And do not forget that everywhere there was a sign of the cross.
• Before buying, the product must be checked for quality. Its edges should not be torn or cut off. The two sides should be the same, because it is accepted that the front is for people, and the wrong side is for God.
• The best option for a loaf is a towel, in the center of which the loaf will be located, so there should not be embroidery here. Usually embroidery is presented at the edges of the product.

How to decorate with your own hands?

A hand-decorated wedding towel always looks beautiful, because it acquires a special meaning for a young couple: the bride puts warmth and love into it. Quite often they are made personalized, since the embroidered names on the product make it original. You can decorate wedding towels with beads. They look very solemn and elegant, while spending less time and effort.

But many still adhere to the tradition of embroidering it with a cross, because this stitch has been used since ancient times. Today on the Internet you can find a huge number of schemes, according to which it is easy to translate the most creative ornament or pattern into reality. And you can also buy ready-made schemes in specialized stores. The choice remains with the master.