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.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Japanese tea ceremony: Photograph taken by Stephane D'Alu ( en:User:Sdalu ) in April 2004, CC BY-SA 3.0, source