If you are trying to come up with an interesting idea for an anniversary gift, why not take inspiration from some of the bizarre customs associated with marriage around the world?
Here are some of the many strange things people in different parts of the world do as part of wedding traditions:
Dissecting a Chicken
In Daur in China there is a very unusual custom performed by couples who are engaged to help them find the best time to set a date. Basically, the couple has to dissect a chicken and inspect its liver. If the liver looks healthy, they have the prophetic green light to go ahead and get married. If the chicken has a bad liver (we assume all couples are given some rudimentary veterinary training before undertaking this task so they can actually tell), then it is a bad sign, and they have to try again with another chicken another time until they find a healthy one and can set a date.
Gift idea: If you prefer cutting up chickens only to use in your dinner, then a good set of chef’s knives can be a great anniversary gift!
Pelted With Garbage
In Scotland, there is a tradition known as ‘blackening the bride’, where the bride and groom are pelted with rotting garbage by people in their community before the wedding (not in their wedding clothes!). Everything, including old fish and eggs, is fair game, and it is said if the couple can withstand this trauma their marriage can stand up to anything!
Gift idea: This may not be the best thing to take from Scotland, so instead, why not buy some delicious aged Scotch whiskey to serve in a stunning personalized crystal decanter?
Drinking Out of a Toilet Bowl
In France, it used to be customary that any alcohol left over from the wedding feast would be mixed together and drunk by the bride and groom from an ornamental cup shaped to look like a toilet bowl (for some reason). This tradition seems to have died out, perhaps because it really isn’t safe to drink large quantities of random wine and spirits mixed together whether out of a toilet bowl or not!
Gift idea: The toilet bowl part may not be so appealing, but if you enjoy wine and like a French twist, then these Eiffel tower wine glasses can be a cute gift.
Bridal Tattoos
A far more pleasant tradition is one from India, where the bride’s hands and arms are decorated for her wedding using henna tattoos. The intricate designs are carefully painted on and last for a few days, and are meant to represent her elegance and beauty.
Gift idea: If you are feeling adventurous and want a gift that will last a lifetime, you and your partner can always consider getting real matching tattoos! If that’s not your kind of thing, you can always take inspiration from India and get matching henna ones for fun.
There really are a lot of weird things to do with marriage around the world, but reading about these puts things in perspective!