House Purchase Ceremony?

March 23, 2009 3:36 PM

Do house purchase ceremonies exist? I'm searching for a ceremony to perform just before entering a house for the first time after signing the closing papers. This would be analogous to breaking a bottle of wine on a newly commissioned ship, or jumping over the broom at a wedding.

We're closing on our first ever house this Friday. The house is a 1906 Edwardian, in substantially original condition. (i.e., original kitchen cabinets, original bathroom sink and tub, original windows, trim, etc). The house has been exceptionally well cared for; The previous owners lived there for over 50 years.

I'm looking for some ceremony -- perhaps even ceremonial words -- to execute before entering the house the first time as its owner/caretaker, with 4-year-old son and pregnant wife in tow. I'd like something that reflects upon the unknowable history of a 100-year-old structure, and the promise of our future lives there.

This purchase *feels* like such a milestone, on par with a marriage, birth, or death. Certainly the cliche rings true that it's the biggest purchase I will ever make. And Google-fu is failing me for finding any mention of a ceremony or ceremonial words that might be said, just before entering your first house for the first time.

posted by u2604ab to home & garden (17 answers total)

Do any of the house blessings work?
posted by Houstonian at 3:42 PM on March 23, 2009

I like the scene in It's a wonderful life as George & Mary move the Matini's in and give them
Bread!
That this house may never know hunger.

Salt!
That life may always have flavor!

And wine!!
That joy and prosperity may reign forever.
posted by saffry at 3:45 PM on March 23, 2009 [3 favorites]

Are you religious? My Eastern Orthodox Christian family always has a priest "bless" new houses in order to "purify" them and get rid of harmful spirits. I'm sure your local Greek or Russian church could help with that.
posted by halogen at 3:47 PM on March 23, 2009

Smudging Ceremony?
posted by otherwordlyglow at 4:01 PM on March 23, 2009

Seisin. It's a legal term but stems from a medieval English practice. A late property law professor of mine told of how he and his wife did the ceremony upon buying and moving into their home. It involved (as i recall) the breaking of a wishbone-shaped stick, and something involving a feather.
posted by LilBucner at 4:40 PM on March 23, 2009

Hippies I knew in college would burn sage as they moved into new dorm rooms. Sucked ass for those who hated burning sage.
posted by hal_c_on at 5:11 PM on March 23, 2009

There are some pretty cool Shinto house blessings you could look into.
posted by greta simone at 5:43 PM on March 23, 2009

I just did some research on livery of seisin (or the turf and twig ceremony) for work. Here's a wikipedia article on it. And here's a statue of William Penn holding the water, turf, key, and branch involved in the ceremony that gave him possession of Pennsylvania and Delaware.

It's more for land than houses though.
posted by interplanetjanet at 5:55 PM on March 23, 2009

The night we closed on our house (a 1910s folk Victorian!), we had some very close friends for dinner and we all ate sitting on the floor and one of them burned some sage in every room. Then we slept on the floor of the bedroom, giddy that we. bought. a. HOUSE!

Best of luck with your house -- whatever you do, you will remember it :]
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:47 PM on March 23, 2009

Great suggestions all around. Regarding religion: We regularly attend a Unitarian Universalist fellowship. Thus Unitarian Universalist 'themed' suggestions are particularly welcome.
posted by u2604ab at 7:03 PM on March 23, 2009

Not really a ceremony, but I would gather all of the historical information you can regarding the home and display it somewhere. Maybe even find a nice old photo and have it placed as the cover picture on a guest book in the foyer. I also like fiercecupcake's idea.
posted by bach at 8:23 PM on March 23, 2009

It's not universalist, but we Jews hang up a mezuzzah. On the front door. Right side. Religious Jews hang them on all the doorposts, but we cultural Jews just do the front door.
posted by zpousman at 8:53 PM on March 23, 2009

My Asian coworkers-- Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese, at least, our resident Filipina didn't ring in when it came up at lunch two weeks ago-- all firmly agreed that you've got to get "the priest" to show up and bless the house before you move in, because you don't know what kind of spiritual garbage the previous owners left/ it's the traditional thing to do/ it improves your luck with the home.

That being said, it sounds like your priest is the head of your UU congregation-- perhaps you should go have a meeting with them to discuss something appropriate?

Failing that, hey, go with a good old Icelandic-style landtaking, as described in Landtaking and Leavetaking by Ann Groa Sheffield (PDF link). Sheffield describes the major components of the reconstructed Heathen rite as:

Three themes appear repeatedly: 1) bringing significant objects from the old home to the new; 2) claiming thenew property by marking its boundaries; and 3) hallowing the new land or dedicating it to a particular god.

Obviously, unless you're Norse CUUPS, Wodan's not getting any hallowings from you, but I bet you could adapt the basic idea.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:56 PM on March 23, 2009

I just came in to add that Indian Hindu people have a priest come to the house as well. You usually have a religious ceremony, and you invite your friends as well. Afterward, there can be a meal or something -- like a housewarming party.
posted by bluefly at 9:48 PM on March 23, 2009

If the house has a garden, plant a tree - or at least a small bush - the day you move in.

"A special tradition that is shared by many Scandinavians is the planting or the knowing of a special tree in Swedish called a vårdträd, and Norwegian a tuntre; a sacred tree planted in the center of the yard on a family farm that reflects an intimacy with a place. The caring for the tree is a moral reminder of caring for the farm or place where one lives. One Norwegian told me that the tuntre provided a direct connection with the nature spirits that lived underground at his farm."
posted by iviken at 2:38 AM on March 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

There should be some object left from the previous owner. It should be an object left by the original owner. It belongs to the house. (no idea the origin of this notion. Most likely northern Italian or Finnish, as I picked it up along US Hwy 2).

When I signed the paperwork for my house, I invented my own ceremony. I wore my very best shirt (a raw linen shirt of expensive make). When the time came, I took out my pen, and shook it to make it write. Being one of these infernal new-fangled liquid ink pens, it sprayed bright blue ink all over my linen shirt. In the lawyer's office. In front of everyone. So retires my fabulous shirt.
posted by Goofyy at 8:00 AM on March 24, 2009

Thanks for the answers. Here's our plan:

1. My 4-year old will bring his favorite sticks from the back yard of our current house, and we'll use these to mark the boundaries of our lot.

2. Just before entering the house, we'll recite the following Irish house blessing, "BLESS THE FOUR CORNERS OF THIS HOUSE AND BE THE LINTEL BLESSED: AND BLESS THE HEARTH AND BLESS THE BOARD AND BLESS EACH PLACE OF REST; BLESS EACH DOOR THAT OPENS WIDE TO STRANGERS AND TO KIN; AND BLESS EACH CRYSTAL WINDOWPANE THAT LETS THE SUNSHINE IN. AND BLESS THE ROOFTREE OVERHEAD AND EVERY STURDY WALL. THE PEACE OF MAN, THE PEACE OF GOD, THE PEACE OF LOVE TO ALL."

3. We'll bring objects of significance inside (for me a framed letter written to my father from a semi-famous scientist after whom I was named, and my grandfather's Army Air-Core (WWII) service ring).

4. We've got two very nice bottles of wine left from our wedding almost 6 years ago, which have been saved for a 'special occasion' and we'll open one and have a glass when we get inside.

5. We'll burn some sage inside the house.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, mefi!
posted by u2604ab at 12:47 PM on March 25, 2009