Wedding traditions with sweets, sugar and honey
Sweet things are given at weddings because they promise a sweet life.
Sweet things are given at weddings because they promise a sweet life. Sugar, honey, dates, nuts and syrup are handed to the couple, thrown, sent as a box or eaten from a shared dish. Sweets are also the thing most often sent home with guests.
Sugar and honey
In Iran a sugar cone is rubbed over the couple's heads to sweeten the marriage, and the sofreh aghd has honey, sugar and sweets that the bride and groom feed each other. In India a box of mithai is exchanged when the match is agreed. In Greece the bride may put a sugar cube in her glove, and the koufeta, sugared almonds, are given to guests. In Italy the confetti are sugared almonds in odd numbers, usually five, for health, wealth, happiness, long life and fertility.
Sweet gifts
In Morocco and Egypt guests are welcomed with dates and milk and trays of pastries. In Turkey and the Arab world baklava and other sweets are sent to relatives, and in Lebanon a candy table is set. In Chinese weddings, sweet lotus seeds and dates stand for children, and in Korea candy and dates are given.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Sweets, sugar and honey (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha)
A symbolic Hindu wedding uniting the holy basil plant with a stone representing Vishnu.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreKenduri
A communal feast and prayer gathering held by Javanese and Malay communities to mark life events.Feast custom · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
The turmeric ceremony that prepares the Bengali bride and groom for marriageRite · The weeks before
🇩🇪 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
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaHaldi Kumkum
A gathering of married women in southern India who exchange turmeric and vermilion to celebrate their status.Blessing
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChuraचूरा (Hindi)
The red and white bangles that mark a bride's new status in Indian Hindu weddingsAttire · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaAyyavazhi wedding
The sacred rite of Ayyavazhi that treats marriage as a spiritual sacrament and family life as the highest austerity.Rite · Procession and arrival
🇹🇭 ThailandKhanom Si Thuaiขนมสี่ถ้วย
A Thai wedding dessert of four sweet cups symbolizing harmony and lasting love.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫妇和合花钱 (fū fù hé hé huā qián)
Numismatic amulets from East Asia that carry wedding blessings and fertility symbols.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ (Yajña)
A sacred fire ritual central to Hindu weddings and other rites of passageRite · 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kenduri: Andreasprasetya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tulasi Vivah: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khanom Si Thuai: Siripitch Chaiyabutra, CC0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source