Wedding traditions with rice and grain
Rice is the grain of plenty, and in many parts of the world a wedding without it would be strange.
Rice is the grain of plenty, and in many parts of the world a wedding without it would be strange. It is thrown, offered in fire, poured into hands, eaten as the first meal and stored as a sign of a full house.
Throwing and offering
Throwing rice at the couple is common in Western and Asian weddings as a wish for fertility and abundance, and many venues now ask for petals or birdseed instead. In Hindu weddings the bride's brothers place puffed rice in her hands, and she offers it to the fire in the laja homa. Bengali and Maharashtrian weddings use rice grains in the tilak and akshata. In Pakistan and India, a bride may throw rice backward over her head as she leaves her family home, a gesture of repaying her parents.
Rice as food and gift
Chinese families give rice cakes and rice dishes. Indonesian and Thai families offer rice at temples, and in Japan a bowl of rice is shared in some regions. Korean weddings include dates and chestnuts in the pyebaek. In Vietnam and the Philippines rice is served to show prosperity. In many cultures the new couple's first meal includes it.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Rice and grain (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇲🇲 MyanmarMarriage in Myanmar
A blend of Buddhist rites, astrological timing, and family negotiations that defines union across Myanmar's diverse ethnRite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaChaklong wedding
The traditional Ahom marriage system involving rice powder mandalas and ancestral rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlackening
A messy pre-wedding prank where friends cover the couple in sticky substances and parade them through town.Play · The weeks before
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo traditional marriageIgba Nkwu
The multi-stage Igbo marriage process that formalizes a union through family negotiations and the wine-carrying ceremonyRite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ)
The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaTelugu Hindu weddingతెలుగు వివాహ వేడుక
A multi-day Telugu Hindu marriage marked by seven vows around fire and family rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAiburo Bhaatআইবুড়ো ভাত
The final bachelor feast for the bride and groom before their Bengali weddingFeast custom · The weeks before
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreChinese wedding door games堵门游戏 (dǔmén yóuxì)
Challenges set by bridesmaids for the groom at the bride's home to prove his devotion.Play · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर (Hindi)
The vermilion powder a Hindu husband applies to his wife's hair parting to mark her marriage.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal
🇳🇵 NepalSherpa marriage
The astrological matching and barley beer offering that binds a Sherpa couple.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 2 moreKarva Chauthकरकचतुर्थी (Karakachaturthī)
A Hindu festival where married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for their husband's health and life.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 1 moreMayu-Dama
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🇰🇷 South KoreaChaesang채상 (Chaesang)
Woven bamboo boxes used to store dowry items in traditional Korean weddingsGift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreŚmigus-Dyngus
The Easter Monday water splashing and willow whipping tradition of Central EuropeRite · The weeks before
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chinese wedding door games: elfgoh, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Śmigus-Dyngus: Nationwide Specialty Co., Arlington, Texas -- In Buffalo, N.Y., Stanle, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sherpa marriage: Dirk Pons, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marriage in Myanmar: Thant Zin Myint, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Karva Chauth: Iamwiki001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chaklong wedding: Chiring chandan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Igbo traditional marriage: Olugold, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aiburo Bhaat: Ranganm2021, CC BY-SA 4.0, source