Arras Coins- A Hispanic wedding tradition of 13 coins.
Arras in Spanish means pledge. Thirteen gold coins (arras) are given by the groom to the bride during the marriage ceremony. The groom giving the coins signifies his willingness to support her and trust in her. The bride accepting them signifies her willingness to trust him and be prudent.
Some say the thirteen coins represent thirteen words; Love, peace, commitment, trust, respect, joy, happiness, nurturing, caring, harmony, wholeness, harmony, and cooperation. Others believe it is representative of the 12 Apostles and Christ. Yet, others see it as the lunar calendar of 12 months and the 13 as the honeymoon. Whatever the tradition stems from, it is a beautiful part of the Hispanic wedding ceremony.
The Padrinos (Godparents) are the ones to purchase the 13 coins for the groom. This signifies that the Padrinos have shared their wealth of knowledge with the bride and groom prior to the wedding concerning life and marriage.
The coins are kept in a small decorative box. This box which contains the 13 coins is presented to the priest during the wedding ceremony by the Padrinos. The Priest bless the coins and gives them to the groom who pours them from the box into the bride’s cupped hands. The bride accepts the coins and pours them back into the box. The bride sometimes hands the box back to the Padrino till the ceremony is over.
There are of course with any tradition variations, but the underlying sentiment of the 13 coins is a beautiful Hispanic tradition.
Thank you for such a concise and informative overview of the Arras Coin ceremony. As a wedding officiant in Colorado, this is an element that we often add to ceremonies for Hispanic weddings. I love the theme of abundance and prosperity that this ceremony promotes.
Thank you for this beautiful explanation. We spend the winter in Mexico and are getting married (at the age of 60) here in a month. We plan to use this explanation of the arras ceremony. However, the word “harmony” is repeated twice. Could someone check and let me know if this is correct? Perhaps another virtue was omitted by mistake.
I found a listing on Amazon.com with the list, and the other virtue is Wisdom. I am Hispanic and I wanted to incorporate this beautiful tradition, but as my fiance, is Jewish, having him present me with coins representing Christ and the 12 apostles would not be appropriate. I love meanings of the 13 virtues.