Weaving of Fate: When a Braid Becomes a Symbol of the Future

It is the evening before the wedding. The house of the bride is filled with songs, laughter, and the sweet scent of periwinkle and honey. Friends, relatives, and neighbors gather to perform an ancient Ukrainian ritual — “The Weaving of Fate.”

First, the elder enters the room carrying a basket of periwinkle and pours it out onto the table. Two women begin to weave the wreath: one holds the stems while the other ties colorful ribbons. Every movement carries meaning — a wish for happiness, harmony, and good fortune.

Then the bride sits on a chair covered with a pillow. Her mother braids her hair, a symbol of maiden beauty and purity. After that, the brother unbraids the braid, marking the farewell to girlhood. The bridesmaids comb her hair, and the mother anoints the bride’s forehead with honey mixed with water, so that her fate will be as sweet as honey.

Next, the father enters the room carrying bread with the wedding wreath placed on top. He blesses his daughter for a happy marriage and slides the wreath off the bread, giving his fatherly blessing. The bride then tries the wreath on her bridesmaids and embraces them warmly. Finally, the wreath is placed back into the basket — to be kept as a symbol of happiness and family peace.

This ceremony is more than just a wedding tradition — it is a sacred moment of transition from maidenhood to marriage, filled with love, tenderness, and the blessing of the family.

Similar rituals exist in many parts of the world. In Poland and Slovakia, during the Oczepiny ceremony, the bride’s wreath is removed and replaced with a kerchief, symbolizing her new status as a married woman. In Bulgaria, brides are decorated with greenery, periwinkle, and flowers — as a wish for happiness and fertility. In Greece, the bride’s hair is adorned with golden threads and flowers as a sign of blessing. In India, the mehendi ritual involves decorating the bride’s hands with henna — a symbol of love, beauty, and protection. And in Scandinavia, girls weave a wreath of myrtle or rosemary — symbols of purity and new beginnings.

Though different in form, all these traditions share one idea — a wish for love, happiness, and a blessed fate.
And the Ukrainian “Weaving of Fate” remains a tender symbol of women’s unity, family blessing, and faith in a happy future.