Lavaliering
LAVALIERING: more than just a necklace Anna McConnell Secretly, that sister gives the candle to the chapter’s president and a ceremony is held passing the lit candle around a circle of sisters – usually singing a song meant for candle passings that is individual to the chapter. After a given number of times around the circle (depending on the chapter), the lavaliered sister blows out the candle. “The support that I felt was really nice,” said Taggart. “It was definitely something I wanted to share with my sisters.” Alyssa Smith, a junior in Alpha Gamma Delta, was recently lavaliered by her boyfriend of a year as well. Her boyfriend, Jared Richards a senior in Theta Chi, surprised Smith during her candle passing. “I was completely surprised and needless to say there were many tears,” said Smith. When the candle came to her, Richards and his fraternity brothers entered the room serenading her with the “Dream Girl of Theta Chi”, a traditional song of their chapter. Historically, the concept of “lavaliering” hasn’t been as heartfelt as it is today. Back in the 1600s, King Louis XIV of France gave his mistress, Louise de La Valliere, a pendant necklace as a farewell gift when their relationship ended. Since then, the name “La Valliere” has morphed into the word “lavalier” meaning a necklace given to a significant other. Today in the Greek Community, many fraternity men show devotion to their significant other by giving them a pendant necklace with the letters of their chapter. The necklaces can have very different meanings depending on the fraternity and relationship. One fraternity senior, Marc Regan of Sigma Phi Epsilon, wanted to show his girlfriend of one year how much she meant to him.When he presented her with the lavalier in a heartshaped, engraved box, his girlfriend Abby Taggart, a senior in Chi Omega, was so in awe that she couldn’t form words. LETTERS
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“We talked a lot about what it meant for me to be wearing his letters,” said Taggart. Regan had never seen anyone lavalier their significant other in his fraternity, so he researched the tradition online. He found that the ritual of lavaliering could mean many things and is defined differently by everyone. “It was a really big sign of commitment,” said Regan. “I was planning around our one year anniversary and I knew we had enjoyed each other’s company for a year and that we’d be together for a while.” In many sororities, the tradition of a candle passing is a very important and meaningful part of being lavaliered. Normally, a ceremony is performed with a special candle either purchased or decorated by the sister who was lavaliered.
“By wearing Jared’s letters I know that our relationship will always and forever last through thick and thin,” said Smith. “It’s basically a promise ring version of what any other couple does to say that an engagement is in the near future.” Being Greek comes with many traditions within each individual chapter, but the very unique tradition of lavaliering is one that is able to shared among all sororities and fraternities regardless of the letters. “It’s a special thing that not many people are able to experience together, so I’m really lucky,” said Taggart. “Being able to wear my letters and his letters together symbolizes the meaningful part of our relationship – being Greek.”
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