The love lock versus the infinity knot
- Eric Sijpestijn
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The love locks tradition involves couples attaching a padlock to a bridge, fence, or gate and throwing away the key to symbolize unbreakable love. It is a modern, urban based tradition for couples that prefer something symbolic yet simple and cheap.
Personally I find a rusty lock left somewhere in between lots of other anonymous locks a poor presentation of a love affair. A lock also refers to guarding a possession, not a great way to treat the gift of someone’s affection. Even if the initials of the couple are engraved upon it to personalize the lock, the name Yale is stamped bigger on the other side.
The Infinity knot is tied from multi colored ribbons, each one symbolic for the forces that influence a relationship, such as trust, understanding and empathy. As a celebrant I also offer a blessing with every chord towards the well being of love into the future.
Both are outdoor ceremonies but a handfasting is much more poetic, spiritual and emotional. The couple also take the knot with them to their home and don’t leave it behind in a public place, leaving visitors to wonder if the couple are still together.
