"Tie the knot" là gì?

[English below]

‪#‎Tietheknot‬ dịch nôm na là thắt chặt nút, là biểu tượng (có thể nói là) lâu đời nhất của đám cưới theo quan niệm phương Tây. Không có bằng chứng cụ thể nào để giải thích ý nghĩa của hành động "thắt chặt nút" này. Giả thiết lâu đời nhất mà tớ tìm hiểu được, bắt nguồn từ phong tục tập quán cưới xin của người Hindu. Trong đám cưới, một trong sáu dấu hiệu minh chứng hôn nhân của 2 người là nghi thức chủ rể buộc chiếc vòng Thaali lên cổ cô dâu (tương tự như người châu Âu deo nhẫn vậy). Tập tục này lại được giải thích bằng một tập tục xưa ơi là xưa, từ thời săn bắt hái lượm, người đàn ông - để giành được phụ nữ của mình -  phải dành tặng người phụ nữ đó một chiếc vòng làm từ răng nanh hổ để chứng tỏ sự mạnh mẽ và can đảm của mình. Trong suốt thời kì đô hộ, người Anh đã mang nghi lễ này về và một dị bản của "tie the knot" ra đời.
Nhưng tớ cũng đọc được một giả thiết cho rằng nghi lễ này bắt nguồn từ Tây phương ngày xửa ngày xưa từ hồi lâu lắm, để làm chiếc giường cưới cho đôi vợ chồng thì các bác làm giường phải làm phần lưới (nôm na là cái giát giường ấy ạ) bằng việc đan các các dây chằng kim loại. Các mối dây phải được thắt chặt và cẩn thận để đảm bảo an toàn cho cô dâu chú rể đêm tân hôn hí hí Hình tượng "knot" cũng xuất hiện nhiều trong các văn tự cổ xưa đến văn học trung đại của phương Tây, dù không đi cùng hành động "tie" nhưng vẫn ám chỉ sự việc cưới xin.
Tất nhiên là tớ thích cách diễn giải hiện nay, đó là Biểu tượng mang hình số 8 kia có hình dạng của ký hiệu "vô cực". Có nhiều cách thắt dây, nhưng tựu chung hình ảnh "tie the knot" đều hướng tới khoảnh khắc 2 người thực hiện lời nguyện ước được yêu và bên nhau mãi mãi. Đó là cũng là lí do mình chọn kí hiệu vô cực này cho hình xăm đầu tiên. 

Cuối cùng câu hỏi của mình là : Trừ phong bì và hòm tiền ra thì ở VIỆT NAM, có hình ảnh/hành động nào gợi nhắc bạn đến đám cưới như hình ảnh "Tie the knot" hay không?



So we all know, 'tie the knot' means join a man and woman in marriage. It isn't clear whether this expression derives from an actual knot used in marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity.
One theory comes from the Hindu marriage ritual of the Hindu man tying a sacred necklace ('Thaali') around the Hindu bride's neck which identifies her as a married woman. Apart from the Thaali, the toe rings (Metti), Kungumam (the red dot on the forehead), Valayal (bangles) and Mookuthi (nose rings) form the six symbols that indicate that a woman is married.

The thaali is usually a gold pendant strung from a yellow thread prepared with turmeric, a string of gold beads, which is comparable to the wedding ring of the West .

While there are local variations with respect to the others, the thaali is nevertheless worn by most married women in southern parts of India until their husbands are alive and they are in a wedlock. The origin of this practice predates Hinduism itself tracing back to the stone ages where ancient men of the region used to make the thaali necklace out of a tiger's canine (after killing them to win over their women with their bravery and valor).  And the British made it part of their lexicon with European 'Indology' studies during their colonial rule of India.  

 In certain communities, the groom ties the first of
the three knots while his sisters/mother tie the rest.

There is also suggestion which I prefer that this expression derives from the nets of knotted string which supported beds prior to the introduction of metal-sprung bedframes. The theory goes that, in order to make a marriage bed, you needed to 'tie the knot'. Like many such folk-etymological explanations, there's not a shred of evidence to support this idea.

However, knots have a place in the folklore of many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges. Actual knots have certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time and the tradition of trying the wrists of the bride and groom with twine continues today in marriages in the use of sashes which are placed over the principal's wrists. The word 'knot', although not in the phrase 'tie the knot', has been associated with marriage since at least the 13th century. 

E. and M. A. Radford's The Encyclopedia of Superstitions has it that:

"In the seventeenth century, one or two of the bride-favours were always blue. These were knots of coloured ribbons loosely stitched on to the wedding gown, which were plucked off by the guests at the wedding feast, and worn as luck-bringers in the young men's hats."

Francis Grose, in his 1811 edition of The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue listed the 'knot tied with the tongue' with specific reference to marriage.

"He has tied a knot with his tongue, that he cannot untie with his teeth: that is, he is married."

The Jewish tradition, like many others, also has a long history of the use of knots in the marriage ceremony. The Wilmingtonian And Delaware Advertiser, January 1826, reported this item under the banner of 'Miss Rothchild's Marriage':

"At an early hour on Monday morning, Stomford Hill, the country residence of N. M. Rothschild, Esq. was in a great state of bustle, and most of its inhabitants were on qui vive, waiting the approaching hour when Hymen was to tie the knot of a son and daughter of the house ot Judah."

However the figure of eight can be referred the infinity sign, the same shape that contains a wealth of complex meaning within its fluid lines. The sign can be drawn in one continuous movement, making a seesaw movement of clockwise and counterclockwise loops which reflects the balance of opposites; male and female,day and night,dark and light. The infinity sign stands for wholeness and completion and epitomizes the idea of sexual union and of "two becoming one." 

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Often the simplest symbols are the ones with the richest meanings. The infinity sign, the figure of eight, and the mathematical lemniscate all refer to the same shape that contains a wealth of complex meaning within its fluid lines. This mysterious symbol is found on an everyday object, the camera, where it appears as the infinity lens focus.

As a mathematical device, the infinity sign was first "discovered" in 1655 by John Wallis, but its significance as a religious symbol is much older. The infinity sign has its origins in the Arabic numerals that actually came from India in the first place. The sign can be drawn in one continuous movement, making a seesaw movement of clockwise and counterclockwise loops. These loops reflect the balance of opposites; male and female,day and night,dark and light.

Because the circles of the lemniscate sit side by side, the sign implies equality between these opposing forces, with the connecting point in the center the convergent point. The sign epitomizes the idea of sex-

ual union and of "two becoming one." The infinity sign stands for wholeness and completion.
- See more at: http://www.truthperfected.com/2013/02/the-infinity-symbol-more-complex-than.html#sthash.aMLZqAqp.dpuf

richest meanings. The infinity sign, the figure of eight, and the mathematical lemniscate all refer to the same shape that contains a wealth of complex meaning within its fluid lines. - See more at: http://www.truthperfected.com/2013/02/the-infinity-symbol-more-complex-than.html#sthash.WfHThp4g.dpuf

richest meanings. The infinity sign, the figure of eight, and the mathematical lemniscate all refer to the same shape that contains a wealth of complex meaning within its fluid lines. - See more at: http://www.truthperfected.com/2013/02/the-infinity-symbol-more-complex-than.html#sthash.WfHThp4g.dpuf

the circles of the lemniscate sit side by side, the sign implies equality between these opposing forces, with the connecting point in the center the convergent point. The sign epitomizes the idea of sex-

ual union and of "two becoming one." The infinity sign stands for wholeness and completion. - See more at: http://www.truthperfected.com/2013/02/the-infinity-symbol-more-complex-than.html#sthash.WfHThp4g.dpuf