Indian wedding glossary · The functions
What is Chooda?
Also written: Chura, chooda ceremony, ਚੂੜਾ
Chooda is the set of red and ivory-white bangles a Punjabi bride wears from her wedding day, given by her maternal uncle at the chooda ceremony on the wedding morning.
- Who keeps it
- Punjabi Hindu and Sikh families. Similar bangle rituals are kept in many other communities.
- When
- The morning of the wedding, before the anand karaj or pheras.
About Chooda
What should you know about Chooda?
The mama brings the chooda, which is often dipped in milk and rose petals before he slides it on to her wrists. The bride is not meant to look at it until the wedding, so it is often covered with a cloth. Her sisters and friends then tie kalire to it.
In many families a bride wears her chooda for a set time after the wedding, and how long differs from family to family.
In the order of functions
Where does Chooda come in an Indian wedding?
The morning of the wedding, before the anand karaj or pheras.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Chooda?
Chooda ceremony, Saturday, 14 February, 8 am. Close family only.
Related words
Words that go with Chooda
- Kalire
Kalire are the gold and silver umbrella-shaped ornaments that the sisters and friends of a Punjabi bride tie to her chooda on the wedding morning.
- Jaggo
Jaggo is a Punjabi night celebration where relatives carry a decorated brass pot of lit lamps on their heads and dance through the neighbourhood, singing to announce the wedding.
- Mayra
Mayra, also called bhaat, is the Rajasthani and Haryanvi custom where the bride's or groom's maternal uncle and his family bring clothes, jewellery and gifts for the wedding.
- Anand karaj
Anand karaj, meaning blissful union, is the Sikh wedding ceremony, held in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, in which the couple walk around it four times as the four laavan are sung.
- Haldi
Haldi is the ceremony where relatives apply a paste of turmeric, gram flour and oil or rose water to the bride and groom, each at their own home, to bless them and make them glow.
Questions
Chooda, answered
What is Chooda?
Chooda is the set of red and ivory-white bangles a Punjabi bride wears from her wedding day, given by her maternal uncle at the chooda ceremony on the wedding morning.
Which families celebrate Chooda?
Punjabi Hindu and Sikh families. Similar bangle rituals are kept in many other communities.
When does Chooda happen in the order of wedding functions?
The morning of the wedding, before the anand karaj or pheras.
What do families write on the invitation for Chooda?
Chooda ceremony, Saturday, 14 February, 8 am. Close family only.
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