“I don’t understand why some people say rural weddings today are too focused on gifting gold just to show off wealth.”

It is important to understand the tradition of relatives and friends giving away large sums of money or gold at important events such as weddings or housewarmings. It is a long-standing tradition meant to help the hosts start their new life, similar to an interest-free loan with no expectation of repayment.

When gold prices were stable, receiving several taels of gold from relatives was a real boon for newlyweds. They provide the couple with a small capital to build their future.

Wedding gifts are a form of unavoidable debt. Giving money or gold at weddings is like giving the couple an interest-free loan with no set repayment time, as they often start with little and need capital to build their home.

When relatives or friends later hold weddings, the couple is expected to return the gesture. It is not a gift without obligations, except from parents or grandparents. For other relatives, the gifted gold is usually repaid when they marry off their children.

Some people now complain about others gifting gold as a way to show off wealth because gold prices have skyrocketed and they are reluctant to return the favor.

If they receive several maces of gold at VND15 million ($570) per piece and then later gold prices drop, they would be happy to call it good fortune instead of accusing others of showing off.”

Reader Song Dong is a dam shared this view after reading the article ‘Receiving 10 taels of gold as a wedding gift.” It described a reader attending a nephew’s wedding where each guest gifted the newlyweds one mace of gold, totaling around 10 taels, and expressed concern about having to reciprocate when gold prices are high.