crafts


crafts?

Ivy has no purpose in making things like staves, bowls, furnishings and so forth,, but it is well used for decoration, ritual, blessings and divination.

The most familiar use of Ivy is its use in wreaths for midwinter, Yule and Christmas.

It also has a popular revised role in weddings in Ireland.

Brides used to hold Ivy through ceremonies and as much as possible up to the first dance. This was said to bless the union into a happy and long lived one. Today, Brides do carry flower bouquets that include ivy within them. Some have started to ask for ivy to hang each side of the aisle to bless the Bride when she enters. At some weddings there is an Ivy avenue created at the approach of the gathering wedding reception.

Another old tradition, that seems to have truly faded, is that milk maids would wear Ivy, either as a head band, wrist band or ankle band while milking cows as this was believed to calm the cattle and bless them so that milk yields remain high and sustain over many more days.



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