A dowry is a gift of substantial monetary value given from either the bride or groom to their future spouse upon marriage.

A hope chest is traditionally gifted to the oldest daughter in a family as a way to collect special items to store until she’s married. The hope chest has also been called a glory box, a dowry chest, and a bridal trousseau.

As far as I know my mother never had a dowry.
I do know my sister had a dowry but my dad never talked about it (I was 9).
My X had no dowry when we were married.
I provided a small dowry for my daughter's wedding.

Has any of you participated in the tradition of the dowry?
What are your thoughts on dowries and if you marry again, would you participate in the dowry tradition?

My dad gave my sister a hope chest. It was a custom made cherry wood chest with a cedar lining. Sis kept it locked but I know she had filled it by the time she married.

I bought my daughter a hope chest which was basically a trunk with an insert.
She used it for an everything box and treated it like a storage box. Since she was out on her own long before she married, I have no idea if it played a role in her marriage. I could not attend her marriage due to financial and distance issues.

How many of the women here participated in the Hope Chest tradition?
Do you still have it?
If you marry again will you participate in the hope chest tradition on your own?

One more thing...
I gifted my X with a Mother's Ring after our last child was born.
Do any of you have a Mother's Ring?

I've heard of this but to me it's very old fashioned. It's something from 150 years ago. I have never known any family that has done this.

Never heard of a hope chest, nor a mother ring.

Dowry I know of from certain Asian countries, I think still big in India. And here in the west from the olden days.

Trousseau -had to look that up- is also old-fashioned but some still did that when I was around 17. I did too when I had a steady boyfriend, later fiancé.
Stuff like towels, tea towels, tea spoons etc. Not one box, I had the whole lot in the end, so several cardboard boxes full.

These days not done anymore really. Probably used to be a form of dowry, but these days people move out on their own so no need for a dowry. And they have a job so they go to Ikea's to shop and get the whole friggin lot in.
Mom & dad may help out here and there with expenses.

I have never heard of a Mother's ring.

Modern day tradition has replaced the dowry with the Bride’s family
paying for the wedding, at least in the US.

Modern day living is getting invited to the wedding , and being subtly told , only cash gifts will be accepted . And hints that the meal at the reception is gonna cost X amount of dollars etc .... so make sure the appropriate amount is placed in that decorative envelope ...

In India, presently, dowry is illegal. Both, giving and accepting dowry is a criminal offence. That being said, it is not a fact that it doesn't exist! It's done in the name of "gifts", which is not an offence!
Now I'll come to the part of myself having ever being part of this system. Yes, however much I may disapprove of it, I had to arrange for the dowry when my ex's sister got married!
In India there's this custom of the bride's family having to give the groom their nuptial bed and all other furnishings required for the newly weds' new family! Dowry deaths are not uncommon when a bride's family fails to meet up the demands from the groom's family!

Agree an its right.

Dowry should be illegal.
Happy Sunday To All
tc.

Interesting responses, thanx!

My heritage is Irish/Welsh.
I remember reading about Welsh Love Spoons too.
I've never crafted one but I thought the idea was cool.

Has anyone followed the tradition of Welsh Love Spoons during their courtship?

The history of the Welsh love spoon began over 300 years ago in Wales, when young men, often sailors on sea voyages would carve ornate wooden spoons known as “love spoons”. They would present these love spoons to a woman as a romantic gift.

An example of a Mother's Ring

A Hand Crafted Hope Chest (Often has names engraved inside the lid)

That chest is something I'd expected. But I don't get what you're supposed to do with it? You can keep smaller things in there, bling bling, a ribbon, letters, and so on, but not anything one would have as a trousseau.
So what is the purpose of it? What are you supposed to do with it?

My sis used hers for keepsakes and small souvenirs from her dating and courtship. She also kept small bridal items for her wedding.

I guess you could keep anything that would fit and hers was full of stuff.

Hi Tom!

I grew up having a Hope Chest. We put special things in it like the China my grandma gave me, lace table cloths, family recipes, and my great-grandma crocheted me some baby things before she died (knowing she would not be alive when I was finally old enough to get married). I also stored things in there like my journals and my baby book.

I think it's a lovely tradition. I didn't think to do it with my daughters though.

That makes me think it's a very old custom, maybe from colonial times? When a woman would get married and would move away from her own family and with that chest still had some stuff that reminded her of her family and could help her to create a new, good household of her own?

Exactly. That's the way it was used when I grew up. But it wasn't only the oldest daughter who had a hope chest. It was any/all daughters.

That would make sense. After all, all of them would benefit from a li'l vibe from home.
I've never heard of this custom here but that doesn't mean in the past daughters wouldn't get certain things to take with them when they got married.