1 Why Do People Give Gifts for Weddings?

People give gifts for weddings for different reasons. Usually, people want to help the bride and groom. Many countries have their own customs. In the United States, both families give gifts to the couple. In other places, the customs are very different.

In India, the groom's family asks for a large payment from the bride's family. The payment is called a dowry. Sometimes the payment is a special gift with a brand name. For example, some families ask for a Singer sewing machine or a Sony television set. Sometimes the payment is money. The money may be equal to the family's salary for two or three years. Both families agree about the money.They agree on how much money the bride's family can afford to pay. Some Indian families do not like to have many daughters. It is too expensive! Today in India, a woman with a large salary is the same as a woman with a large dowry.

In the Middle East, the bride's family asks for a large amount of money from the groom. The gift is called a mahr. The mahr is money and sometimes land or a home. In Saudi Arabia, the groom gives a lot of money. He buys clothes for the bride for one year and buys furniture for their new home. Rich couples get expensive gifts from both parents. The parents often give nice furniture or a new car.

At one time in Saudi Arabia, the mahr for a bride was very, very high. Men could not afford to marry Saudi Arabian women. They married women from Lebanon and Egypt. This was bad for Saudi women. Soon, many Saudi women did not have husbands. The government made new rules. They made it hard to marry a foreigner. Another Middle Eastern country, Oman, had problems, too. Soldiers in the army could not afford to get married.The sultan of Oman made a law against large mahr payments. This helped couples in Oman to get married.

A wedding is a very special and important time. People give gifts for different reasons, but one thing is the same. Everybody wants to help the bride and groom start a happy life together.