Holiday Wedding Traditions: Christmas & Winter Wedding Symbolism, History & Meaning
Every wedding is a beautiful milestone — a chance to celebrate the love, faith, and commitment two people have chosen to share for a lifetime. For thousands of years, couples around the world have marked this moment with meaningful traditions and symbols. These rituals carry rich history and deep symbolism that help express the journey from two separate lives into one shared future. Whether you are planning your own wedding or simply curious about why certain customs exist, understanding these traditions can make the day feel even more special and intentional. And when a wedding falls in the Christmas season — with candlelight, evergreen, and carols all around — a couple gets to celebrate two kinds of joy at once.
Why Holiday Wedding Traditions Matter
A holiday wedding joins a couple’s story to a season that is already about faith, family, and light. Loved ones are gathered, homes are decorated, and hearts are turned toward hope and gratitude. Choosing to marry in this season means your anniversary will return every year wrapped in the same warmth — a yearly reminder of the promises you made, set against the celebration of the greatest gift of all.
Complete Guide to Holiday Wedding Traditions
Below you’ll find the story behind the customs that make a Christmas or winter wedding feel so meaningful — the greenery, the candlelight, the colors, the music, and the keepsakes — along with simple ways couples bring each one into their own day.
Evergreens, Holly & Mistletoe
Plants that stay green through the coldest months have long been treasured as symbols of enduring life. The Romans decked their homes with greenery for the New Year, and by the late Middle Ages English churches were buying holly and ivy every winter. For Christians, evergreens came to stand for eternal life and the promise of spring’s return, and in some traditions ivy was linked with faithfulness and marriage. Kissing beneath the mistletoe is a later English custom, first recorded in 1784 and well loved by the early 1800s. Today these greens find their way into wreaths, garland, bouquets, and boutonnieres.
Candlelight Ceremonies
The Christmas Eve candlelight service has a lovely history. In 1747, in Marienborn, Germany, Moravian children were each given a lit beeswax candle on Christmas Eve, and the custom soon took root in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before spreading far and wide. A candlelit wedding carries the same message: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Many couples pair the glow of the season with a unity candle — two flames becoming one light.
Red, Green, Gold & Winter White
Red and green come straight from winter holly and evergreens, and the Victorians made the pairing the colors of Christmas. In Christian tradition, red is often seen as a reminder of Christ’s love and sacrifice, green as eternal life, gold as the gift of the Wise Men and the Star of Bethlehem, and white as purity and hope — the color many churches use on Christmas Day. To learn more about the meaning of wedding colors, visit Wedding Colors & The White Dress.
Carols & Hymns in the Ceremony
Few things set the season like music. Couples often choose “Joy to the World” as a joyful recessional, or “Silent Night” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful” for a quiet, reverent moment during the ceremony. A favorite carol can live on long after the day, too — like our Silent Night Christmas Carol Sign.
The Wedding Ornament
The year-dated “first Christmas together” ornament is a newer, much-loved American custom that grew popular in the 1970s. Many couples make it their own tradition — hanging that ornament first on the tree every Christmas — and some give small ornaments to guests as favors, so a piece of the day returns every year.
Holiday Traditions Around the World
In 19th-century England, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were among the most popular wedding days of the year. In Sweden, brides traditionally wore a bridal crown, often lent by the parish church, a custom reaching back to the late 1500s. Discover more customs in Cultural Wedding Traditions Around the World.
Christmas Vows & Scripture
The season offers beautiful words for vows and readings. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17) is a favorite reminder that a marriage itself is a gift. For more on the history and meaning of the promises couples make, see Exchanging Wedding Vows.
Did You Know?
In 19th-century England, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were often the only days working couples could take off without losing wages — so churches filled with weddings. Some churches married couples free or for a small fee, and one East London church recorded 84 weddings on Christmas Day in 1899.
Making Holiday Wedding Traditions Your Own
These time-honored customs are not rigid rules — they are invitations. Choose a favorite carol for your first dance, tuck a sprig of evergreen into the bouquet, set up a cocoa or warm cider bar for guests, or display a beloved scripture on your ceremony sign. When you understand the meaning behind a tradition, it stops being just a custom and becomes a lasting memory you’ll cherish for the rest of your lives together.
Your First Christmas as Husband & Wife
The first Christmas married is a chapter all its own. Hang your first ornament together, take a photo in the same spot each year, or welcome guests with a family name sign by your first tree. Our Retro Family Name Holiday Sign in Red and “Merry Metal Christmas” Photo Plaque are made to become part of that story year after year.
Celebrating a Holiday Anniversary Year After Year
A December anniversary lands right in the middle of the holiday rush — and the traditional anniversary gift for each year makes choosing something meaningful simple.
Year 1 – Paper: a fresh start written together. Paper Anniversary Gifts · 1st Anniversary Guide
Year 2 – Cotton/Canvas: comfort woven into everyday life. Cotton Anniversary Gifts
Year 4 – Linen: strength and lasting beauty. Belgian Linen Gifts
Year 5 – Wood: roots that grow deeper. Wood Anniversary Gifts · 5th Anniversary Guide
Year 6 – Iron: a love that holds strong. Iron Anniversary Gifts
Years 7 & 22 – Copper: warmth that endures. Copper Anniversary Gifts · 7th Anniversary Guide
Years 8 & 19 – Bronze: two strengths joined as one. Bronze Anniversary Gifts
Year 10 – Tin/Aluminum: resilience and a decade of devotion. 10 Year Anniversary Gifts · 10th Anniversary Guide
Year 21 – Brass: a bond that only grows richer with time.
Or make your first-dance carol a keepsake with a Song Lyric piece — every piece Handcrafted in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Christmas wedding bad luck?
Not at all. In 19th-century England, Christmas Day was one of the most popular days of the year to marry.
What is a good first Christmas married gift?
A dated ornament, a family name sign for your first tree, or a keepsake featuring your wedding photo or first-dance song.
What do I give for a December anniversary?
Start with the traditional material for the year — paper, cotton, linen, wood, and beyond — and add a holiday touch.
What are traditional Christmas wedding colors?
Red, green, gold, and winter white are the classics, often paired with natural evergreen and candlelight.
Looking for a Meaningful Gift This Holiday Season?
→ Browse the Holiday Gift Guide
Holiday Gifts for Her · Holiday Gifts for Him · Gifts Under $100 · Custom Wedding Gifts · Religious Wedding Gifts
Each piece is handcrafted to order in Texas.
Explore Our Wedding & Marriage Traditions
→ Wedding & Marriage Traditions: Symbolism, History & Meaning
→ Engagement Ring vs Wedding Ring
→ Father Walking the Bride Down the Aisle
→ Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue
→ Unity Candle, Sand Ceremony & Blending Traditions
→ Handfasting & Binding Ceremonies
→ Wedding Colors & The White Dress
→ The Bouquet Toss, Garter & Other Reception Traditions
→ Cultural Wedding Traditions Around the World
Explore Traditional Anniversary Gifts by Year
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