Auspicious dates, seasons and days to avoid

The lucky date

In India the wedding must fall in a shubh muhurat, an auspicious window worked out from the couple's birth charts and the position of the moon. Chinese families check the almanac for yi and ji, suitable and unsuitable days, and many prefer dates with a pun on forever, such as 9 September (jiu jiu), or 8 August for luck. In Japan the taian day in the six-day rokuyo cycle is favoured and butsumetsu is avoided. Dates with matching numbers, like 12.12 or 20.02.2020, fill the registry offices of Europe and the United States.

Seasons shaped by farming and faith

Weddings tend to follow the harvest, when families have food and money and the weather is kind. In northern India the main season runs from Dev Uthani Ekadashi in November to spring, and Hindu weddings pause in the inauspicious months of Chaturmas and Kharmas. In Europe the peak months are June to September, and in Greece, Poland and Finland summer weekends are booked years ahead. In Central Asia and parts of Africa weddings follow the harvest, and in the Gulf and North Africa many take place after Eid or after the pilgrimage.

Days and months to avoid

Observant Jews do not marry on Shabbat or holidays, nor during the Three Weeks before Tisha B'Av or most of the Omer. Muslims typically avoid weddings during Ramadan, and Shia families often avoid Muharram and Safar. Orthodox and Catholic churches have long discouraged weddings in Lent, Advent and fasting weeks, and the Orthodox church does not marry on many fast days. Chinese families avoid the Ghost Month, the seventh lunar month, and some Hindu families avoid Pitru Paksha. Buddhist weddings may avoid the rains retreat. Rules vary by community, so check with the officiant.

The day of the week

Friday is the day of the nikah in much of the Muslim world, Saturday the most common day in Europe and North America, and Sunday the day for many Filipino, Greek and Polish celebrations. Hindu families may avoid Tuesday and Saturday in some regions. In Greece a Saturday wedding was once avoided in some villages, in Iceland Thursday and Friday were popular, and in Japan the day matters less than the rokuyo. Cost is a modern factor: a weekday or off-season date can cut the price a lot, and more couples now choose one.

Auspicious dates, seasons and days to avoid around the world

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Traditions to start with

Also part of it, and being written: Muhurta (The Hindu choice of an auspicious time.), Chaturmas (The four months when weddings are not held.), Tung Shing (The Chinese almanac of lucky days.), Rokuyō (The Japanese six-day cycle of luck.), The Three Weeks (The Jewish period when weddings are paused.), Counting of the Omer (The seven weeks without weddings.), Ghost Festival (The month when Chinese families avoid weddings.), Lent (The Christian season of restraint.).

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