84 Days

Getting married in Lancaster County means that we have spent, and are going to spend a large amount of time there. One of our very favorite things about being in Lancaster is the very laid back atmosphere, very different from our hectic Jersey lives! A large part of this laid back tempo of life has to do with the large community of Amish that live in Lancaster. Obviously we all know a little about Amish traditions and today I am going to share one of my favorites!

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Courting Candles. 

Courting candles were a sort of a timer for the courting couple, the young suitor could stay until the candle touched the top of the holder. So, in essence dad had the power as to how long his daughter's suitor stayed. 

If the dad liked the young suitor, he would put a long candle in the holder & screw it all the way up to the top so that the maximum amount of candle was showing. This way, the young man could stay the whole time the candle burned. However, if dad didn't like the suitor, he would use a shorter candle with the holder screwed either further down or all the way down!  Once again, the young man would have to leave when the top of the candle burned down to the holder.

So there you have it, the courting candle. A neat little Amish tradition - and you get a cookie if you knew about this already! ;)

Did you/your parents have any traditions when you went on dates?