Monday Cuppa 2/8 and Valentine's Giveaway
Happy Monday, friends!
Hope you've had your coffee today. I'm enjoying a wonderful cup of Starbucks's Christmas Blend. We bought in bulk, but sadly are on our last bag. Time to find a new, yummy blend. Going to have to hit Cafe Euro for some Mudslide.
It's been a few weeks since I've posted. One week I was snowed-in at a writer's retreat in Pennsylvania (a post and pictures to come later this week), and this past week I had an emergency appendectomy (no pictures to come :P). But I'm back and today I'm kicking off a really fun Valentine's giveaway with a few friends with two awesome prize packs.
This week we'll be sharing about love customs in different countries. I get the pleasure of sharing Irish love and wedding customs with you today.
- One Irish wedding tradition in Donegal was for a man who had identified the woman he wanted to marry. He went to her house accompanied by a friend and threw his cap into the house when the door was opened. If the cap was thrown back by the girl, it meant she wasn’t interested.
- Handfasting, also known as tying the knot, is an ancient custom in Ireland. During the ritual, the couple holds hands, right hand in right hand, and left hand in left with their wrists crossed. A ribbon or cord is then wrapped around their wrists in a figure 8, signifying infinity.
- The Claddagh Ring is a traditional ring given by young Irish men to their girlfriends as a gift, and is usually inherited from a family member. The ring has a part in wedding ceremonies too. Single women traditionally wear the ring on the right hand, with the ring facing outward. When in a relationship, it's turned inwards, indicating that the lady isn't 'available.'But the ring is moved to the left hand when the wearer becomes engaged (point outward), and turned inward on that hand once married.
- Another custom is called Lucky Money. At the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom exchanged silver coins. If the coins clinked, then the couple would be blessed with happy children.
Hope you've enjoyed learning about some Irish wedding customs.
You can enter the main giveaway for a Kindle Fire, chocolate, bubble bath, Starbucks gift card, $75 pajama gram, and eight novels by clicking the below link and filling out the form you'll find there. In order to enter, you'll simply need to agree to receive occasional e-newsletters from the participating authors.
To enter the giveaway click here.
We’re also offering a side giveaway, open only to those of you who visit all four Romance Around the World blog posts throughout the week. You’ll find the links to the blog posts below. At each stop, you’ll be able to collect a few secret words. By the end of the week, you’ll have accumulated a secret sentence that will qualify you to enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card, a literary mug, and a ‘Reading is my Adventure’ throw blanket at Rachel’s blog on February 14th. So be sure to visit the following writers on the following days to read about romance around the world!
On February 10th, Susan May Warren will chat about romance in Russia.
On February 12th, Becky Wade will chat about romance in France.
On February 14th, Rachel Hauck will chat about romance in England.
Best of luck, everyone, and happy Valentine’s Day!
My secret words are: Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Blessings,