شیرینی

The most weighted use of shirini is in the ritual of شیرینی‌خوری (shirini-khori), "the eating of sweets," the formal engagement ceremony in Iranian families. The groom's family arrives at the bride's family home with boxes of pastries, fruit, and sometimes flowers. Conversation circles, tea is served, then the shirini is opened and shared. To eat the shirini together is to publicly acknowledge the engagement: the families have agreed, the couple is committed, and the wedding is now in the works. In some communities the ritual is its own celebration distinct from the wedding, with its own photographs and announcements. The phrase شیرینی‌اش رو دادیم (shirini-ash-o dâdim), "we gave the sweets for it," can stand in for the entire engagement event. The expression شیرینی به همه دادن (shirini be hame dâdan), "to give sweets to everyone," means to celebrate good news with the community: a graduation, a promotion, a new baby. Iranians measure happiness, in part, in the boxes from the qannâdi.