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.
About this page
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.
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreKrishna Janmashtamiकृष्णजन्माष्टमी
A night of fasting, song and vigil that marks the birth of KrishnaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePongal
Three or four days of boiling rice, garlanded cattle and thanks to the sunSeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreChhath Pujaछठ पूजा
A four-day Hindu festival honouring the sun and Chhathi Maiya along riverbanksSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Goa, India and 2 moreBhai Doojभाई दूज
A Hindu festival of sibling bonds marked by forehead markings, feasts and blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreTiharतिहार
A five-day Nepalese festival honoring animals, deities, and the bond between siblingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSharad Purnima
A Hindu autumn full moon festival of night vigils, moonlit sweets and sacred dancesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Jaipur, IndiaGangaurगणगौर
A North Indian spring festival honouring Shiva and Gauri with clay idols and processionsFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmi Pujaलक्ष्मीपूजा
A Hindu festival of lamps, prayers and offerings welcoming the goddess of prosperitySpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNaraka Chaturdashi
The dawn festival of oil baths, ancestor lamps, and harvest foods during DiwaliFestival · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Tiruvannamalai, India and 1 moreKarthika DeepamKārtikai Tīpam
A Tamil and Malayali Hindu festival of lights honouring Shiva, Kartikeya and ParvatiSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu
A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluபொம்மை கொலு
An autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu
A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ
A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز
The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 moreBasant
A Punjabi spring festival marked by rooftop kite flying, yellow clothing and fairsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaKaradaiyan Nonbuகாரடையான் நோன்பு
A Tamil Hindu festival where women fast and pray for the long life of their husbands.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaPongala
A harvest offering of sweet rice porridge prepared by millions of women in South IndiaFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePunjabi wedding traditions
The multi-day marriage customs and rituals of Hindu and Sikh Punjabi familiesRite of passage · 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.
- Sadya: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pongal: Saral Shots, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhath Puja: Steffen Gauger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pongala: Sreeraj Krishna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nowruz: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gangaur: Avinashmaurya, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jur Sital: PCNWorld at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Punjabi wedding traditions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bhai Dooj: SandeshLamsalNepal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karthika Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
- Lakshmi Puja: Subharnab Majumdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Naraka Chaturdashi: India (Delhi Agra area), Public domain, source
- Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Sharad Purnima: ShotgunMavericks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basant: Haseeb Ahmad Farooqi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krishna Janmashtami: Nvvchar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source