Why Do People Throw Rice at Weddings?

Throwing rice at the bride and groom or in the air over them as they depart the wedding ceremony and set off on their new life has been a long-standing American tradition. However, this tradition dates back so many years no one knows for sure when or where it started, and rice is by far not the only items traditionally thrown at the happy couple.

From researching the information found about wedding traditions available on the internet today, it seems that most agree that throwing foodstuff items at the bride and groom began as a fertility and prosperity wish. Seeds and grains are used for crops, and from the smallest seeds, large crops can grown. For some cultures, throwing rice or grains at the wedding was a blessing for the wish of a healthy and large crop so the couple could be prosperous. It might also have signified fertility, so the couple would have many children to help them work the crops.

The tradition has continued into modern times, with rice throwing the most common American tradition for closing a wedding ceremony. In other countries, the customs have included throwing dates and figs, for a fruitful union, and for the more romantic and scented send off, some couples have opted for throwing colorful rose petals instead.

Sometime in the early to mid '90s, a scare rumored the internet and wedding industry that throwing rice was hazardous to birds. The theory was that rice, once swallowed whole and uncooked by the birds, would then swell inside their stomachs and cause the stomach to expand, causing the birds to become very ill or even die.

In fact, this urban legend became so popularly known that many television sitcoms made jokes about throwing rice at weddings and that this practice would cause birds to explode. Even Ann Landers stepped into the mix and the popular column encouraged newlyweds to use birdseed at their weddings instead of rice in order to save our feathered friends.