Indian wedding glossary · The functions
What is Haldi?
Also written: Haldi ceremony, turmeric ceremony, हल्दी
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.
- Who keeps it
- Hindu families across India, and many Muslim and Sikh families in their own form.
- When
- Usually the morning of the wedding or the day before, after the mehndi in some families and before it in others.
About Haldi
What should you know about Haldi?
Family members take turns smearing the yellow paste on the face, arms and feet of the bride or groom, often with songs and teasing, and it often turns into a playful mess. Guests usually wear yellow.
Turmeric is seen as purifying and protective. In many families the bride and groom do not leave home after haldi until the wedding. The ritual has many regional names: pithi in Rajasthan and Gujarat, gaye holud in Bengal and ubtan in many North Indian homes.
In the order of functions
Where does Haldi come in an Indian wedding?
Usually the morning of the wedding or the day before, after the mehndi in some families and before it in others.
- 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 Haldi?
Wear yellow and come ready to get a little haldi on you! Haldi, Saturday, 14 February, 10 am, poolside.
Related words
Words that go with Haldi
- Ubtan
Ubtan is the paste of turmeric, gram flour, sandalwood and oil or rose water applied to the bride and groom before the wedding, and the name some families give the haldi ceremony itself.
- Pithi
Pithi is the Rajasthani and Gujarati name for the haldi ceremony, when a paste of turmeric and gram flour (pithi) is applied to the bride or groom by the family.
- Gaye holud
Gaye holud is the Bengali turmeric ceremony, where the paste is first applied to the groom at his home and the same turmeric is sent to the bride's home for her ceremony.
- Mehndi
Mehndi is the ceremony where henna is applied to the bride's hands and feet in detailed patterns, while the women of the family sing, dance and celebrate around her.
- Haath peele karna
Haath peele karna is a Hindi phrase that means to get a daughter married, from the haldi that turns the bride's hands yellow before her wedding.
Questions
Haldi, answered
What is 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.
Which families celebrate Haldi?
Hindu families across India, and many Muslim and Sikh families in their own form.
When does Haldi happen in the order of wedding functions?
Usually the morning of the wedding or the day before, after the mehndi in some families and before it in others.
What do families write on the invitation for Haldi?
Wear yellow and come ready to get a little haldi on you! Haldi, Saturday, 14 February, 10 am, poolside.
Put Haldi on your invitation with its date, time and venue, and send it on WhatsApp. Two invitation designs are free forever.
Make your invitation