The unity sand ceremony emerged in the late 1980s as an alternative to the unity candle ceremony. The latter was a popular tradition in the Catholic faith in which a couple would light two candles individually and then light a central candle together. “As people started moving their ceremonies and celebrations out of doors, they needed to find an alternative ritual,” says life-cycle celebrant and nondenominational minister Alisa Tongg. “The flame was going out from the wind.” People started using sand as a substitute for candles.
