Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary Ceremony (Hoehonsik)

Definition and Meaning

Hoehonsik (回婚式) is a ceremony commemorating the sixtieth year of a couple's marriage; traditionally it was called hoehollye (回婚禮). The character hoe (回) means "to return." The term signifies that the sexagenary designation (ganji, 干支, the name of a year in a cycle that repeats every sixty years) of the year in which the couple married has come around again.

The terms often used alongside it, eunhonsik (silver wedding anniversary) and geumhonsik (golden wedding anniversary), come from Western customs marking the twenty-fifth and fiftieth anniversaries of marriage, respectively. Strictly speaking, therefore, they refer to a different number of years than hoehonsik. In Korean churches, however, these terms are often used together in the broader sense of a commemorative service giving thanks for a long married life.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture contains no command to observe wedding anniversaries or a hoehon ceremony. The church, however, understands marriage as a covenant made before God. On the basis of passages such as Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6, and Ephesians 5:31-32, it therefore holds in high regard a husband and wife remaining together for life. Hoehon services frequently cite "The hoary head is a crown of glory" (Proverbs 16:31) and Psalm 128, which celebrates the blessing of seeing one's descendants.

Hoehollye was a custom practiced among yangban (scholar-official) families during the Joseon dynasty. The elderly couple would put on ceremonial attire as at their wedding, reenact the marriage rite, and receive the congratulations of their descendants. The ceremony is said to have been regarded as complete only if both spouses were living and none of their children had died before them. In an era of short life expectancy, it was a rare occasion for celebration.

Practice in Korean Churches

Korean churches have adapted traditional celebrations such as hoehollye and the hoegap (sixtieth birthday) banquet into the form of thanksgiving services. This is sometimes explained as being in the same vein as replacing ancestral rites with memorial services.

• Hoehon thanksgiving service: The couple's children invite the senior pastor or another member of the pastoral staff to lead a service at home, at church, or in a banquet hall. The service proceeds with hymns, a representative prayer, Scripture reading, a sermon, and words of thanks; it sometimes includes a time in which the couple renew their marriage vows.
• After the service: Children and grandchildren bow to the couple or present flowers or a commemorative plaque, and the family shares a meal together.
• Congregational celebration: Some churches honor all qualifying couples together on Parents' Sunday or Seniors' Sunday.

Most denominations, including the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Holiness churches, do not include the hoehon ceremony as a formal rite in their church constitutions. The order of service is left to the discretion of each church and pastor. Typically, a service led by a pastor closes with the benediction, while one led by a layperson at home closes with the Lord's Prayer. As average life expectancy has risen, golden anniversary thanksgiving services have become common, and hoehon thanksgiving services are also held more often than in the past.