In a traditional Russian wedding custom, karavay is the decorated sweet bread that parents may present to the newlyweds.
Karavay is a round ceremonial bread associated with hospitality, prosperity, and good fortune. At a wedding, the parents may welcome the couple with the loaf, often together with salt. The newlyweds may each take a bite, and folklore sometimes treats the person taking the larger piece as the future household leader.
The bread can be elaborately decorated with symbolic dough shapes, including flowers, leaves, and intertwined designs. Recipes and presentation vary across Russian and other East Slavic communities.
Karavay is not the same as kulich, the tall Easter bread found in Russian Orthodox tradition. Its wedding role is specifically connected with welcome and shared domestic life.