Sweets given and shared
Sweets handed out at a birth, a wedding or a festival, and offered at a shrine.
Sweets matter in tradition as things given: handed out at a birth, brought to a wedding, sent to neighbours on a festival day, offered at a shrine. These pages are about the customs of giving and sharing sweets, not about how they are made. For dishes and recipes, see Thali.
Given, not just eaten
A box of sweets carried to a new house, shared after an exam result or distributed at a naming ceremony is a message: good news, goodwill, thanks. Who gives, who receives and how many are offered usually follow clear rules.
Offered to the sacred
Many faiths offer something sweet to a deity, a saint or the ancestors, then share it among the people present. The offering is part of the rite, and the sharing afterwards completes it.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Sweets given and shared (meal). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreFat Thursday
A Thursday before Lent when doughnuts, grilled meat and Carnival take overFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 4 moreRisalamande
A chilled Danish Christmas rice dessert with cream, chopped almonds and cherry sauceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival
A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreSaffron bun
A golden, spiced yeast roll flavoured with saffron, baked for festive and holy daysTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón
A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα
A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMothering Sunday
A mid-Lent Christian observance and family celebration of mothers and mother churchesSeasonal · Breakfast
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, Netherlands and 4 moreSinterklaasSinterklaas / Sint-Nicolaas
A Dutch winter feast on 5 and 6 December, when Saint Nicholas brings gifts to childrenFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh)
An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas
A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreGustavus Adolphus DayGustav Adolfsdagen
A Swedish flag day on 6 November, marked with a pastry topped with the king's likenessCeremony · Sweets given and shared
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut
A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saffron bun: Nenniu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fat Thursday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Vasilopita: Μυρμηγκάκι, Public domain, source
- Old New Year: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Gustavus Adolphus Day: Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, Public domain, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sinterklaas: R.F. (Roel) Jorna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source