Wedding traditions with salt
Salt is a small, humble thing with a big role.
Salt is a small, humble thing with a big role. It preserves, seasons and protects, and in many cultures to share bread and salt is to make a bond of hospitality. At weddings it can be a welcome, a test or a ward.
Bread and salt
In Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, the couple is greeted by parents with a loaf and salt, and the bride and groom take a bite, and the one who takes the larger bite is said to rule the house. In Slavic and Balkan areas the same welcome is offered to guests of honour. In Jewish custom bread is dipped in salt at the start of a meal, and some couples are greeted with bread and salt in the Ashkenazi world.
Salt as test and ward
In Turkey the bride may serve the groom coffee with salt in it during the visit to ask for her hand, to see how he responds. In Scotland and Ireland, salt was placed in a bride's pocket against bad luck, and in Italy a custom has the bride carry salt or sugar. Salt is also used in the Chinese and Japanese worlds to purify.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Salt (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreHausa traditional marriage
The Islamic marriage rites of the Hausa people in Northern Nigeria and Niger.Rite · Finding a match
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend
The evening before the wedding when guests break porcelain to bring luck and test the couple's teamwork.Blessing · The eve
🇮🇷 Tehran, Iran and 1 moreIranian weddingمراسم عروسی در ایران
A multi-stage ceremony rooted in Zoroastrianism and Islam that binds families through courtship, feasts, and sacred vowsRite · Finding a match
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditionsРусская свадьба
A multi-day celebration blending Orthodox crowning, ransom games, and lively toasting in Russia.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ)
The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBread and salt
A traditional welcome offering of bread and salt to guests or newlyweds in Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan cultures.Feast custom · The weeks before
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShinto wedding神前結婚 (Shinzen kekkon)
A Shinto purification ritual featuring sake sharing and kimono attire held at a shrine or venue.Rite · The ceremony
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreTuroń
A horned effigy that visits homes during Carnival to wish for fertility and collect gifts.Blessing · The weeks before
🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesCourtship in the Philippines
A traditional Filipino courtship marked by serenade, service, and family involvement.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇰🇷 South KoreaHahoe byeolsingut talnori하회별신굿탈놀이
A rare Korean masked dance-drama performed to appease the village deity Seonangsin in Hahoe.Rite · The weeks before
🇨🇳 ChinaHebao荷包 (Hébāo)
A traditional Chinese embroidered pouch used for gifts, medicine, and romantic tokens.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal
🇲🇷 MauritaniaT'heydinnالتهيدين (al-T'haydīn)
A Mauritanian Moorish epic performance of poetry and music kept by griot families.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hausa traditional marriage: Bembety, CC0, source
- Courtship in the Philippines: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shinto wedding: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Korovai: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Hahoe byeolsingut talnori: Ian Sewell, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Iranian wedding: Flickr.com user "avlxyz", CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source