In Japan, Now It’s ‘I Do’ To Take Off The Wedding Ring
The divorce rates in Japan are rising and what couples are doing more and more as this happens is to celebrate the event. What’s even stranger is that they are doing it by saying ‘I do’. Does that mean ‘I do hereby divorce you’ or something like that? Well, it seems that the ceremony is catching on and it is being done by the couple that is splitting up in front of friends and families.
It all began about a year ago and it was started by an ex-salesman who started this in Tokyo. He set up this divorce mansion where couples who are divorcing can book the place and go through the ceremony. Some of them are done in a very grand style, almost like a wedding. However, this is held so that it signifies the end not the beginning of a relationship and it leaves both partners with a sense of closure, making it easier for them to start off their lives afresh.
So what happens at this ceremony? The couple arrives separately and they go through a ceremony where the wedding rings are smashed with a gavel. However, the gavel head is shaped like a frog which signifies change so when this is done, there is a finality about the divorce and the hope of a new life ahead. Or so they say. So it looks like what this ex-salesman started – being a divorce ceremony planner – is going to kick off in a big way in Japan and who knows, it might just spread to the rest of the world too. If in some way it means a positive end to marriage, it might be a good thing.